The Love She Couldn't Give
by Rosey1118
Summary: Mae Willis wasn't used to the silence she'd forced herself into. But after losing one of her best friends, a boy she considered to be her brother, silence is the only things that feels right. Laughing without Cedric, loving without Cedric, even attending Hogwarts without Cedric felt wrong. Until a desperate attempt to help her leaves Mae feeling wrong in exactly the right way.
1. Chapter One

Mae Willis sat quietly in her family's car as they drove to Kings Cross Station. She wasn't normally a quiet girl; she'd spent ninety-five percent of her life laughing and making jokes. All of that had changed, however, at the end of June. She felt like she'd been stabbed in the chest; like the knife had been slammed into her and twisted around and then left there to make her bleed the entire summer. Her parents hadn't wanted her to return to Hogwarts, and it had taken a personal visit from Albus Dumbledore to convince them to let her go back. And oddly enough, she wanted to. Hogwarts was the last place she'd spent time with her best friend, and she was hoping to find echoes of Cedric in the corridors.

"You're sure you want to go back?" her mother asked for the tenth time that morning. "You know you don't have to, right?"

"I know, Mum," Mae said softly. "But I want to. How am I supposed to learn to protect myself if I don't go back. And Cedric would want me to finish."

Her father sighed heavily and continued to stare straight ahead. "Cedric thought of you like a little sister, Mae. Don't you think he'd want his little sister to be safe?"

"I will be safe," Mae argued. "But only if I learn how to protect myself. We've had good Defense professors the last two years; I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will give us another good one and then I can protect myself, and I can protect you two as well."

"Mae-"

"I'm not arguing with you about this," she said stubbornly, folding her arms across her chest and turning her head to stare out the window. "Just get me to the platform, please."

Her parents both sighed then, and they didn't say another word to her for the rest of the drive. Mae closed her eyes and fought to keep herself from crying. She'd spent the first half of her summer unwilling to leave her room. Her parents were right; Cedric had thought of her as a little sister, and Mae had thought of him as a big brother. He'd been there for her throughout her entire life; they'd known the Diggory's for years before Mae had been born. They'd been shocked to find out that the family were wizards, and even more shocked when Mae got a letter to Hogwarts herself. Cedric had gone with her to Diagon Alley the first time and pointed out what he thought she would like or needed for school. He'd been the one to teach her how to play quidditch and it had been one of their favorite things to do together. He'd been the person Mae could go to when she was upset or elated, and he'd hug her and congratulate her, or tell her that he was there for her no matter what.

When he'd been chosen as the first champion for Hogwarts last year, Mae had been over the moon. She knew that Cedric was excited and they'd celebrated with butterbeer that Mae had snuck into the school. It was his chance for glory, which she knew he secretly craved. He'd gotten through two tasks and come out on top and tied with Harry Potter. He'd gone into that maze after practicing spells with her for two weeks. And then he'd come out, being clutched and covered by Harry as he shouted about Lord Voldemort being back.

Mae didn't blame Harry for what happened in the maze. She'd overheard him telling the story to his friends as she'd sat in shock, and she knew he couldn't have done anything differently. But that didn't mean that she could handle Cedric dying. He was family; he was her best friend at Hogwarts and outside of it. And he was gone.

Her thoughts clouded her mind the rest of the ride to the train station. Mae blinked in surprise when they arrived, and she glanced at her parents to see them looking at her worriedly. But she didn't speak to them, because as soon as they opened their mouths they'd be begging her to stay behind and stay safe with them. She'd explained a thousand times that Hogwarts was one of the safest places in the world for her, but that hadn't really comforted them at all. Not speaking was a better decision for all of them; it would keep them from fighting about her return to school, and it would keep her calm and not about to burst into tears.

Her dad helped her with her trunk and her owl. They put her things on a trolley, as they did every year, and followed her to the platform. That's where they stopped. Her parents, even though they watched her run through the brick wall every year, couldn't bring themselves to do it. They were convinced they'd hit the wall and bounce back because they weren't magic. Mae had tried to inform them that they'd be allowed through because they were her parents, but that hadn't ever worked for that.

"I suppose this is goodbye." she said, hugging her mother for a long minute before turning to her father.

He didn't hug her, and instead put his hands on her cheeks and stared at her worriedly. "Mae," he said softly, "I watched one of my oldest friends go through losing his son this summer. Please don't make me go through the same thing."

"I won't," Mae promised softly. "Dad, I…"

"I love you too," he said, finally hugging her. He didn't let go for a full two minutes, and at that point in time she started to feel silly for him holding on so long. She was an adult now, after all, and her dad was still hugging her like she was five years old. "Go on. Don't sit by yourself though, do you hear me? Find one of your friends-one of the A names or Katie, okay?"

"Angelina and Alicia," Mae said, smiling slightly. Her father could never remember their names to save his life. She didn't know why, as the names weren't particularly challenging, but it did make her friends laugh whenever they heard him talk about them. "I'll find them."

Her mother hugged her one more time before pushing her off to the wall. She was just about to go through when she realized that she recognized one of the people passing by her. She opened her mouth to shout hello and to yell at Cedric for pretending to be dead when she realized that the man she'd seen wasn't actually her best friend; he just resembled him slightly. Her throat tightened and her eyes burned, and Mae pushed her trolley through the wall before she could stare at him for much longer.

Contrary to what she'd told her father, Mae didn't even attempt to find the Gryffindor girls she was friends with. Angelina, just like herself, had been made captain of her respective quidditch team, and Mae wasn't sure if she'd be seen as a friend or a competitor from now on. Angelina was intense when it came to quidditch, and while Mae couldn't blame her for that, she wasn't quite sure where she'd stand now. So instead she looked for the first empty compartment she came across and went inside, shutting the door quietly and praying that no one would bother her.

Being alone was something she wanted more frequently now. When she wasn't alone, people wanted to talk about Cedric or school in general, and Mae wasn't ready to talk about any of that yet. She could hardly even talk about Cedric with her parents, so she definitely wasn't going to be able to do it with someone else. People at Hogwarts especially knew her as Cedric's friend, his best friend, and she had a feeling she wouldn't go a day without hearing about him all year long. The other students would think they were helping her, but Mae knew the truth. Every reminder of Cedric, as much as she craved it, twisted that knife a little further into her heart.

Luck was on her side for most of the journey. It was almost like there was a flashing light outside the door to her compartment that said to leave her alone, because she noticed some people come up to the door, see her inside, and then immediately turn around. She wondered if this was what people felt like when they had the plague or some other terrible disease. If sadness could be classified as a disease, then she definitely had it.

She couldn't be lucky forever though. Halfway through the journey the door to her compartment slid open, and she was greeted with the sight of messy black hair, round glasses, and a lightning scar. Mae just stared at Harry Potter as he stood in the doorway to her compartment. She'd talked to him maybe ten times her entire life, and it was mostly to congratulate him every time he beat her team in a quidditch match, or the occasional good luck during the tournament last year. Which was why, when he stayed silent, she opened her mouth. "What do you want?" she asked, wincing slightly as her words sounded gruff and rude.

"I...Came to apologize," he said. "I never apologized last year, and...It should have been me, and I'm sorry it was Cedric."

She continued to stare at him for a moment before shaking her head. "Don't," she muttered. "Don't say that, Potter. Cedric didn't die for nothing; don't make it seem like he died for nothing."

"I'm-"

"I don't blame you," she said softly. "I don't. You couldn't have known what was going to happen. But don't you dare make it sound like he died for nothing."

He nodded and hung his head, backing out of the compartment. Mae sighed heavily and pulled out her wand, locking the door so no one else could come inside. An apologetic Harry Potter was not something she was capable of handling at the moment. She needed him to leave her alone, because if she had to deal with his guilt over the whole ordeal then she'd never be able to move on. She felt bad for speaking harshly to him, but he needed to realize that it wasn't his fault. Maybe she'd try and approach him later in the week to tell him that in a gentler manner. He deserved that; he'd had to watch Cedric die, and he was still a kid.

She tried to forget about the fact that she was utterly alone by counting the number of cows they passed on the journey, but that plan quickly fell through. She and Cedric had played stupid counting games like that on her first train ride, because it helped her stay calm and he hadn't wanted her to completely freak out. "I miss you," she muttered, leaning her head against the window. "God, I miss you."

Mae wondered if he could hear her. She wondered if he was in some kind of after life drinking tea with his grandfather, who'd died when Cedric was nine and who had always been one of the kindest men she knew. She liked to think that Cedric had the opportunity to be happy and with someone he loved, because the alternative was that he had just completely stopped existing, and somehow that felt worse than him just being dead.

Her status as someone with the plague continued on the ride up to Hogwarts once they arrived in Hogsmeade, as no one had wanted to climb into a carriage with her. It continued through dinner, where the other Hufflepuffs left spaces on either side of her so they wouldn't be obligated to talk to her. Even her teammates didn't want to talk to her, which was a low blow and made her nervous. She was supposed to be their captain that year, and if they wouldn't even look her in the eyes, how could they ever expect to win? She felt like she'd have to jump up and down and laugh hysterically to get their attention, because they were all avoiding eye contact as best as they possibly could.

Mae kept her eyes focused on the table at the front of the room for most of the meal. She, along with every other student, pretty much immediately had a bad taste in her mouth after Professor Umbridge was introduced, but Mae tried to convince herself that the woman couldn't be that bad. No one who wore that much pink could be that bad. She caught Professor Dumbledore's eye at one point in time and he smiled at her, the sad sort of smile you send someone when their pet has died. Mae sent a smile back and then looked at her cleared plate. The year was off to a poor start, and she wasn't convinced it was going to get any better.


	2. Chapter Two

The first night back at Hogwarts was usually something Mae looked forward to. It meant that she could laze around the common room with a book instead of homework. Often she'd play wizard's chess with Cedric and they'd basically make the chess pieces go into all out war while laughing and joking with one another about being the best at the game. Truthfully, Cedric was better. He'd let her win more often than not, and when she was little she'd believed that she was actually good. After her fourth year though she realized the truth, and had forced Cedric to promise that he wasn't going to let her win anymore. They'd played chess the night before the third task, because Mae had wanted him to calm down and she knew that he could use a win at something.

Now someone was sitting in her chair and their friend was sitting in Cedric's chair, and they were laughing loudly at something. Mae didn't know what it was, and quite frankly she didn't care. She was jealous of the fact that they were laughing so much; she hadn't laughed that much in months. So she turned and went down the steps to the dormitories, finding hers easily and feeling relieved when she saw that her stuff was already inside it. She could just change into her pajamas and lie on her bed and pretend to be asleep when anyone walked in. It was a good plan; the other girls in her dorm weren't people she was friends with so it wasn't like they'd really want to spend a bunch of time talking to her anyway.

Mae laid on the bed without sleeping for six hours, until it was three in the morning and she felt like going to sleep was the only way to force her brain to stop thinking about Cedric and the fact that he wasn't going to be there when she got home for Christmas. She slept fitfully, dreaming of how he died once again, and woke up feeling even more tired than she'd been before. It was just before seven when she opened her eyes again, and she heard yawns from a few of the others girls who were getting up. Like Mae they'd all been sleeping until closer to eleven in the morning, and getting up before seven again was something they'd have to adjust to. Still, Mae was the first one to actually get out of bed and climb into the shower. She never took as long as the other girls and there was an unspoken agreement that she got to go first without having to listen to them complain because she didn't make them wait for an hour before popping back out of the bathroom.

All she really did was wash her hair and throw it up into a ponytail. It wasn't in her way when it was up, and Mae hated it when things got in her way. She was just about to leave the dormitory when she felt a hand on her arm. The girl who stopped her, Leslie, smiled kindly before speaking. "Do you want to eat breakfast with the rest of us? I know you don't really have anyone to eat with, and I don't want you to have to eat by yourself."

Mae just stared at her. "I do have friends, you know."

"But you always ate with Cedric, and he's not here anymore, and I was just thinking that you might like some company."

"I don't," Mae said sharply. "I was planning on eating with Angelina, Alicia, and Katie anyway."

Only she wasn't planning on doing that either. The three Gryffindor girls, while she loved them, were not exactly the people she wanted to spend her time with right now. She wanted to be by herself, because being alone felt better than moving on from her friendship with Cedric. She wouldn't normally eat with anyone else; her meals were always with Cedric and the rest of his friends who had all finished Hogwarts at the end of the last school year. She'd known, before the maze, that she'd have to find someone else to sit with during meals, but then Cedric had been killed. He hadn't technically finished Hogwarts and she felt like she should be sitting with him before she chose to sit with anyone else. She couldn't do that though, because he'd been murdered by one of Voldemort's followers. So she'd sit by herself and she'd just have to be okay with it.

"Alright then," Leslie said. "You've got a place with us if you want it though, okay?"

"Thanks," Mae said. Her voice kept sounding gruff; ruder than she'd intended it to. Maybe it was because she felt angry all the time now, and she didn't know how to stop the feeling so it was taking over her voice too. "Sorry. I just...Not quite ready for all of that. I should get to breakfast; I'll see you later."

Leslie nodded and smiled in a typical Hufflepuff fashion, and Mae forced herself to grin back before she left the dormitory. She wanted to go and get food from the kitchens to avoid other people, but if she did that then she'd miss Professor Sprout giving out schedules. Mae knew she couldn't go to classes without knowing her schedule, which brought her up the stairs and into the bustling great hall. People were laughing and chatting and Mae tried her best to ignore them as she walked toward the professor's table. Professor Sprout was talking happily to Professor McGonagall, who was Mae's favorite professor at Hogwarts and taught her favorite subject as well.

She assumed that Professor Sprout, who knew her fairly well, wouldn't mind a small interruption. "Good morning, Professors," she said, well aware that some eyes from the other students had followed her up to the front of the room. "Professor Sprout, I was wondering if I could have my schedule? I'd like to go eat somewhere a little quieter."

Professor Sprout gave her the same sad smile that everyone else had started giving her. "Of course, Mae," she said. "Let me just find it."

She started digging through a stack of schedules, and Mae glanced at Professor McGonagall to see the older woman watching her. "I trust I'll see you in class today?"

"Of course, Professor," she said quietly. "I don't plan on skipping class."

"Just meals then." Professor McGonagall said, a stern tone to her voice as she raised an eyebrow.

"I'll grab something to eat before I go," Mae said. "A...A bit of toast or something. It's just really loud in here and I don't like to sit here alone."

"I'll be keeping an eye on you, Ms. Willis," McGonagall said slowly, "and not just because I think you're the captain who can beat my team."

Mae cracked a smile and said, "I'll do my best. Hufflepuff hasn't won in ages and you've been winning since Harry Potter came here."

She was surprised to see one of Professor McGonagall's rare smiles. Professor Sprout found her schedule before Mae could continue to talk to her favorite professor, and she quickly thanked the head of Hufflepuff before hurrying off to leave the great hall. She did stop to grab a piece of toast, but only because she knew Professor McGonagall was going to be staring after her and she didn't want to disappoint the woman.

Mae didn't eat the toast, however. She went outside and tore it to bits for some birds to eat and sat down next to a tree to study her class schedule. After O.W.L.S. the students all mixed together for smaller classes, which meant she'd have Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies, and transfiguration with some of her friends. Classes like Charms and Herbology were still separated because almost everyone continued on with those, but Mae shared them with Ravenclaws so she didn't think she'd have any issues. Defense Against the Dark Arts was her first class every Monday and she had it with Gryffindors, which was going to be awful. She wasn't that good at defensive magic to start with, and there were definitely some Gryffindors who'd make fun of her for her ineptitude.

In the back of her mind, she heard Cedric telling her to be calm and brave. He always said that to her whenever she was faced with a task she didn't want to do. Mae wasn't exactly known for being brave; she'd spent a few months petrified in her fourth year and that hadn't been pleasant, and she'd been on edge ever since. It had brought her and Cedric closer though, as he vowed to protect her then for the rest of his life. He'd never really needed to after that, save a few times in quidditch when he got her attention from someone that tried to send a bludger her way even when they weren't supposed to.

She started to make a list of exercises to do with the quidditch team. She had to decide sooner rather than later when to hold tryouts; there were positions to fill and they did need to practice if they wanted any chance of beating Gryffindor for the house cup. Mae knew a lot about quidditch; she'd been studying it ever since watching her first match, and she wanted to prove that she could be a good captain.

Mae checked her watch and stood up, sighing heavily as she started back toward the castle. Maybe her parents had been right; maybe she should have stayed home from school. Because walking up to the school that morning, Mae wanted nothing more than to go home. She wanted her mother to hold her and tell her that she was going to be okay. Maybe she should ask to take a small break; just a day trip home.

"Just go to class," she muttered, walking into the castle with a frown. She missed smiling and wondered what she could do that day to make it better. She wanted to do something to smile again. "Or maybe," she said to herself, "you don't know what you want. That feels more accurate." She hesitated for a moment and then said, "Bloody hell, I think I'm going insane."

Mae shook her head and walked up the stairs to get to the Defense classroom. She was curious about the new professor, and she could only hope that her class was less boring than the speech she'd given at dinner the night before. She got to the room and looked around the room, trying to decide where she could sit. Angelina and Alicia were sitting together, laughing, though they waved her over as soon as they saw her.

"There's our new captain," Alicia said with a smile. "Well, two of them anyway. You two are going to be insane on the pitch this year. I know you both want to win."

"No offense, Willis," Angelina said with a cocky smile, "but we're going to crush your team."

Mae wanted to smile back, but instead she just nodded. "We'll try and win." she said.

Their smiles faltered. "How are you doing?" Alicia asked softly. "You didn't write at all this summer."

"I was a bit busy," Mae lied. Busy was only applicable if spending the day in bed counted. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay," Angelina said, more gentle than she was before. "Last year was tough. How about we go and fly a bit after classes today?"

"You want to fly?"

"It would be nice to feel the wind in our hair and see who can score the most goals. Keepers don't usually try and score." Angelina said.

"I guess flying would be alright," Mae responded, sitting in the set of desks next to Angelina and Alicia. "I can learn some of your secrets to use against you in the match."

Her friends smiled again, probably because she'd agreed to actually do something with them instead of pushing them away like she'd done all summer long. "We're the first people meeting the Umbridge lady," Alicia said, trying to change the subject. "Do you two think she's going to be decent?"

"She won't be as good as Lupin," Mae said, relieved to talk about something she didn't have to get emotional about. "No one can be as good as Lupin. Merlin, I miss him teaching us. I learned so much that year."

"I'm pretty sure that's what everyone thinks," Angelina said. "How could you not like him? And even with the werewolf thing, he was still absolutely amazing."

"No doubt," Mae said. "I just hope she doesn't put out the unforgivables like Moody did. I know it wasn't actually Moody, but that was still disturbing."

Someone sat down next to her, and Mae glanced over to see a Ravenclaw boy. The Weasley twins sat behind Angelina and Alicia, making jokes with each other. Mae turned back to her friends to respond, but stopped when she noticed their new professor standing at the front of the room.


	3. Chapter Three

Mae stared at the front of the room, looking over the woman standing there. She was dressed in pink robes and she had a locket that had cats on it. Mae watched her as she smiled and opened her mouth to talk to them. "Good morning, class."

They were seventh years; no one really trusted her yet and they didn't greet her back. "When I say something to you, I expect you to respond with 'Good morning, Professor Umbridge', or yes and no in the same fashion. Let's try again."

There were echoes of the words throughout the class. Professor Umbridge didn't look particularly thrilled at their lack of response, but she didn't force them to say it again. Instead she tapped her wand on a chalkboard and words in cursive appeared. "A return to basic principles?" Mae whispered, leaning over to look at Angelina with raised eyebrows. "We're bloody seventh years; is she insane?"

"What was that?" Professor Umbridge asked politely. Her smile made Mae feel uncomfortable, especially as the attention of the class shifted onto her.

"Sorry, Professor, it's just...We've got N.E.W.T.s this year, and I'm struggling to see how basic principles are going to help. We've been studying those for six years."

She giggled, and Mae stared at her in shock. Never in her life had she heard a professor giggle. "What's your name?" Professor Umbridge asked.

"Mae Willis."

"Well, Ms. Willis, I assure you that the Ministry has every intention of helping you pass your exams. Any concerns about the curriculum can be shared with me in my office, where you'll have detention tomorrow night at seven."

Professor Umbridge smiled cheerfully while Mae's mouth fell open. "Detention? I only-"

"It would be wise not to insult me, even quietly. I have very good hearing Ms. Willis."

She turned away from Mae and began lecturing them about the dangers of their past professors and what they'd been taught, and Mae couldn't help but think that there was something off with the woman teaching them. She was hiding behind the color pink and feigned sweetness, but underneath that was a harsh woman. Mae glanced at Angelina, who looked equally shocked. Her friend mouthed an apology and Mae shrugged slightly. She didn't think she really deserved a detention, but it wasn't the first one she'd ever had. She could handle writing lines or cleaning trophies. It wasn't ideal, having a detention on the second day of class, but it wasn't going to interfere with playing quidditch with her friends.

Umbridge's class was basically torture. They read theory for over an hour, and Mae wanted to slam her head into the table. She was pretty sure she'd read the same page five times before she actually got through it without spacing off, and then they were assigned even more readings to finish before their next class. Mae wasn't sure she could even make it through the year if this was what happened during it; she didn't want to spend every second of every day reading theory she didn't need to learn again. Her feelings seemed on par with the rest of the class, because as soon as the bell sounded, the students packed up and ran out of the room. Mae tried to avoid looking at the professor and just followed her friends out the door.

"Merlin," Angelina said as they walked as quickly as possible away from the Defense classroom. "She's even worse than Lockhart. How the hell are we supposed to learn anything?"

Mae shrugged. "I don't know how she expects me to finish these readings when I've got detention."

"I'm just going to avoid detention as best as I can," Angelina muttered. "I can't afford to have detentions when I've got a team to form and win. We haven't played quidditch in a year; what if everyone's just forgotten how the bloody game works? I won't allow my team to be a laughingstock."

Alicia rolled her eyes. "We know how to play quidditch, Angelina," she said. "I swear you're turning into Wood."

"I get it now," she said. "Why he was so intense. All I want is to win."

"At least you don't have as much of a team to form as I do," Mae said. "Most of our team two years ago was sixth and seventh years. I have...two chasers and a beater, and that's it."

"We'd come play for you," two voices chorused as they came up behind Mae and her friends. She glanced behind her to see the Weasley twins and sighed heavily. They were all smiles and jokes and she wasn't sure she could handle them. "So long as you don't give long speeches." one said. Mae had no idea which one it was.

"Thanks, but no. I need a serious team."

"We're serious," the other twin said. "On the pitch."

"Gryffindor would be lost without you." Mae argued. They were smiling, and she wanted them to stop. She wanted everyone to stop being happy and feel as miserable as her.

"If you leave the team, I'll kill you both," Angelina threatened. "Don't even joke about it; she's right. You two are great beaters and I need great beaters."

The boys just kept smiling. They were talking to Angelina and Alicia, and Mae quietly excused herself so she could get away from their happiness. It made her feel uncomfortable and sad, and she needed to just feel nothing. If she felt nothing, she couldn't be sad about Cedric dying.

The rest of her day was fairly normal. She went to class and kept her head down, trying to avoid getting another detention for a snarky comment. She mostly focused on making a schedule for quidditch practices and trying to pick a good date for the trials. She needed another three members for her team, and she needed them to be talented so they had a chance of beating someone. The last few years they'd been slaughtered. None of her professors seemed to care that she wasn't fully paying attention either. Mae suspected they knew about her friendship with Cedric and how much his death had affected her. That, she thought, would be the only reason Professor Flitwick didn't comment on her creating a schedule while he talked about the importance of their final exams. It was why she got away with not participating at all in Professor Sprout's class. Even Snape went easier on her than usual; he sneered at her and told her that her potion was terrible, but he didn't make as big a deal out of it as normal.

All of that changed when she got to Professor McGonagall's class. Mae sat down in the middle of the room, which was odd for her because she usually tried to be front and center for Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall noticed immediately and raised an eyebrow, and Mae just looked down at the schedule she'd been crafting to try and make notes on it. Her professor wasn't accepting that though, as a moment later she felt McGonagall's stern presence beside her.

"I'll ask you to please move to the front of the room," she said quietly. The desks there were still empty. "I've heard from the other professors that you haven't been paying attention in class today, and I need to keep an eye on you to make sure you're paying attention during mine."

"I-I'll put the schedule away," Mae said. "But may I stay here? I don't see a reason to-"

"Front of the room, Ms. Willis, now please. And I'd like to speak with you after class."

Her professor walked back to her desk and Mae sighed heavily before gathering her things and moving to the first desk in the room. Professor McGonagall looked pleased, and Mae rolled her eyes once the professor looked away. Someone slid into the seat next to her, and she looked over to see a Slytherin sitting next to her. Mae tried not to groan as she saw him and looked down at the book before her on the table. She tried to get through as of Umbridge's reading as she could before class actually started, and then she put the book away and started to take notes about the important things Professor McGonagall was saying. She was the only professor that Mae could see herself listening to right now, as she knew full well that not listening to Professor McGonagall was going to result in detention or stern punishments.

Transfiguration was her last class of the day, and Mae packed her things up slowly so she could stay behind to talk to Professor McGonagall without having to explain to anyone else why she was doing it. Angelina shouted that she'd meet her on the quidditch pitch in half an hour, and Mae nodded and sent her a slight smile to show that she'd heard. When the room was empty except for her and the professor, Mae stepped forward to speak.

"Professor McGonagall, I know you're worried or upset, but I'm fine, and I'll be paying more attention in my other classes from now on. Please don't report my to Professor Sprout; she saw me avoid participating in her class and I don't...She doesn't need to know that it happened in other classes and that Umbridge gave me a detention. Please, I-"

"Sit down, Ms. Willis," Professor McGonagall instructed, looking tired. Mae did as she was told, and Professor McGonagall sighed before continuing. "You need to be careful this year. It's not going to be easy, we're all aware of that, but you need to be careful. Professor Umbridge will, more likely than not, say some terrible things about Cedric and Harry Potter's story. Going against her, even though it's the truth, will just result in more punishments. And it creates more problems for Mr. Potter."

"You're worried I'm going to cause Harry Potter problems? I've hardly even spoken to him."

"Be that as it may, to Dolores Umbridge, you're the girl who's either going to vehemently go against Harry, like she wants you to, or you're going to be the girl who goes against her. You believe Harry's story, I can see it on your face. If Professor Umbridge thinks he's got a large backing, she's going to find more reasons to discredit him and, in the process, talk badly about Mr. Diggory."

"So I'm just supposed to sit there and listen when she says that Potter's lying and that Cedric died for nothing? That it was just an accident?"

"That's what I'm asking," Professor McGonagall said. "Support doesn't always need to be loud and pronounced. Sometimes it's the quiet support of a friend that can get us through the worst situations."

"But it's not right," Mae protested. "It's not right of me to let her spread lies. What if the other students believe those instead of the truth?"

Professor McGonagall sighed again and shook her head. "Just try," she said. "I wouldn't ask if I knew you couldn't do it. Now I do believe you have something to attend to."

It was her being excused, Mae knew that. She collected her things and was about to turn and leave when McGonagall cleared her throat. "Loss isn't easy, Ms. Willis, but it will be a common occurrence in the years to come. Do not let it destroy you."

Mae nodded but didn't look back, her throat closing. She didn't think she could respond anyway. That's what everyone told her; they told her not to let losing Cedric destroy her. But how was she supposed to do that, when the person who meant the world to her was gone?

She hurried down to the Hufflepuff common room and then to her dormitory to change out of her school robes. She didn't bother putting on her quidditch gear because it was just going to be a hassle, but she did grab her broom before heading out. She put up a sign she'd made about tryouts for quidditch and then went out on the grounds and toward the pitch. Angelina, Alicia, and Katie were all flying lazily on their brooms when she arrived, and Mae mounted and flew up to meet them.

"Sorry that took so long," she said, forcing herself to smile at them. "McGonagall wanted to have a word."

"It's fine," Alicia said with a grin. "We were talking strategy anyway; wouldn't want the enemy to hear that."

"The enemy?" Mae echoed, raising an eyebrow. "Is that how it's going to be from now on?"

"Let's just fly," Katie said. "I barely flew the entire summer, let alone flying while trying to get shots past a keeper or carrying the quaffle."

"Am I just supposed to act like a keeper then?" Mae asked. She was comfortable doing that; she wasn't as good as Oliver Wood, but she wasn't bad either.

"Maybe for a bit," Angelina said. "I was thinking we could just toss the quaffle for a while and try and score. Just...A bit of time to relax before we have to work for the next year."

They all agreed, and Mae flew over to the goal posts and watched as the Gryffindor girls started flying toward her. They worked seamlessly, and Mae was always intimidated to see them coming toward her. But she knew what to do, and without even thinking she started blocking shots. If she could do this all year long, maybe she could forget about how everything had gone wrong during the last school year.


	4. Chapter Four

Mae breathed deeply as she flew around the quidditch pitch. They'd spent almost an hour on the pitch already, the three Gryffindor girls throwing the quaffles into the goals as she tried to block every shot. Some got through, some always did, but Mae managed to block the majority of them. After a while though they all got tired of their little game and decided to just fly, sometimes racing and sometimes just drifting lazily with the light breeze. Mae wasn't sure how or why she felt so relaxed just by flying, but she hadn't felt this free in months and she loved it.

She started to climb a little high when her friends started to talk about going to dinner. Mae wasn't exactly keen on joining the rest of Hogwarts at the moment, so staying outside and flying felt like a much better plan. She heard Angelina call her name, but Mae ignored the other girl. She just needed a few more seconds of freedom before she brought herself back to reality. Just a few more seconds and maybe she could pretend for the rest of the night that everything was okay.

The seconds passed and Mae saw her friends start to fly up to meet her, so with a sigh she turned back around flew down to meet them. "Sorry about that," she said. "Keepers don't get to just fly, at least not that often. Did I hear you guys say you were going to head to dinner? Because I think I'm going to stay here for a bit and just fly some more."

"You're not hungry?" Katie asked. "We've been flying for almost two hours; I'm starved."

"I didn't even see you at breakfast," Alicia said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "You should eat, Mae. You've gotten smaller since I saw you last, and Keepers need a bit of meat on their bones."

"I'm really-"

"It's decided then," Katie said. "You'll be coming to dinner with us. We usually sit with Fred and George, but you can join us at the Gryffindor table or maybe we can sit with you at the Hufflepuff one. Either way, you're coming to dinner with us."

Mae didn't have a chance to argue before her friends flew down to the ground and she had to follow them. They were a bit pushy, and she definitely didn't want to fight them about going to eat. "Any chance you'd let me run to my dormitory and put this away?" Mae asked, gesturing to her broom as they started walking up toward Hogwarts. "I don't really want to drag it to dinner with me."

"Just send it back with a spell," Angelina said, rolling her eyes. "You are a witch, aren't you?"

Mae blushed and muttered that she was, in fact, just as magical as the rest of them. Her friends laughed and got rid of their brooms, dragging Mae to the great hall with them so they could eat. They were talking and laughing, and the longer Mae was stuck with them, the more uncomfortable she started to feel. They were just so happy and so full of life, and Mae wanted desperately to get away from them. Her friends kept her sandwiched between them though, and soon enough Mae found herself sitting down at the Gryffindor table. She felt a bit like an imposter, because she wasn't really supposed to sit there, but none of the other Gryffindors seemed to care about her new seating arrangement. Perhaps it was the fact that she was a seventh year or that she was a quidditch player, but whatever it was the Gryffindors didn't pay her any attention.

For that matter, her friends didn't really talk to her much either. Katie had launched into a tale about how Defense Against the Dark arts had gone for the sixth years that day, and none of them were surprised to learn that the younger students were frustrated too. There was a rumor that Harry Potter had gotten into a shouting match with Umbridge, but Katie couldn't be sure about that because they weren't in the same class and she'd heard it through the grapevine. Angelina angrily muttered that he'd better not have gotten in an argument with her, because she didn't need one of her best players in trouble with the professor.

Mae considered commenting that she wouldn't mind Harry Potter being in trouble because then she wouldn't have to worry about him on the quidditch pitch, but she knew that Angelina wouldn't appreciate the comment. Angelina was too into quidditch this year, and one small comment like that could potentially create a rift between them. So instead of making comments or joking like she used to, Mae sat quietly at the table, surrounded by Gryffindor girls but feeling terribly alone. She knew that her friends were looking at her every few minutes with concern on their faces, but she couldn't bother with smiling and making them feel better. She just wanted to go to her dormitory and do her homework. She wanted to close her eyes and pretend that Cedric was going to be there when she opened them again, because then maybe she could sleep through the night without feeling so miserable.

She ate her food as quickly as she could, because then she could excuse herself to go do homework and not have anyone there to bother her and make her think about how much her life had changed. She could lose herself in Umbridge's awful assignment and pretend that the only bad thing in her life was her inability to read a chapter in one try.

"Mae?" Katie asked eventually, elbowing her in the side. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Hmm?" Meg replied, looking over at her younger friend. "What do you want to help with? If it's Umbridge, I don't think you can."

"No, with you. Last year wasn't exactly easy and I know you're not handling it very well-no offense, but you're barely talking and that was half of what you used to do. Cedric wouldn't want to see you this way."

Mae flushed and shook her head immediately. "I'm fine, Katie, thank you for offering your help but I feel absolutely fine. I'm just...listening more."

"Really?" Angelina asked, finding her way into the conversation. "Mae, we care about you a lot and we don't want to see you hurting so badly. Let us help you; we'll do everything we can to make this year better. I might even purposefully throw a few bad shots in quidditch. I'd do that for you."

"I don't need you to throw pity shots," Mae said, her cheeks staying red but because she was frustrated. "I'm a good keeper; I can block the best shots you throw. I don't need you to cheer me up or take pity on me because my best friend got murdered at the end of last year. What I need is to be left alone, so why don't you just stop trying to insert yourselves in my life so I can grieve in peace!"

Her voice had gone from an angry whisper to a shout, and she saw Gryffindors staring at her. Mae breathed heavily, trying to calm herself down. "I just need you to leave me alone." she said, her voice firm and quiet. With that, Mae stood up from the table and left, feeling eyes burn into her back as people watched her go. She was glad that no one followed her; she expected them to, because they were Gryffindors and that's what she knew Gryffindors to do. But they were shocked, surely, at her outburst and they'd be on her case about it the next day.

Mae went down to her dormitory. She was trying to convince herself that her friends wouldn't completely abandon her after she'd yelled at them. They wouldn't have enjoyed being yelled at, but they were friends and they'd forgive her. She was about to just lie down when she shook her head and walked to the bathroom.

It was quiet; the other girls weren't back yet so she had the bathroom to herself. She turned on the shower and slowly climbed out of her clothes before standing under the water. Mae wanted to wash her hair; she wanted to scrub off the sweat from her skin and feel the water run over her. But all she could do was stand there. She couldn't bring herself to reach for soap or shampoo; she just stood there, staring at the brick in the shower. The water was warm on her skin, and Mae hugged herself around the middle. She wanted to be okay; she needed to be okay. As much as she hated to admit it, Katie was right. Cedric wouldn't want her to feel like this. Cedric wouldn't want her to wallow like this.

Knowing that didn't change a single thing. Her body started to shake and Mae felt tears fall from her eyes. She let go of herself and stumbled back to sit on the floor, the water pouring over her and mixing with the tears on her face. She gasped and let out a sob, unable to make herself stand up and just finish her shower. An hour later she was still sitting there, the water kept warm by magical means. She heard one of the girls in her dormitory enter the bathroom, and that prompted Mae to stand up and shut off the water. She summoned a towel to dry herself off and climbed out of the shower. The other girl, Renee, smiled and asked if she'd had a good day, and Mae smiled back at her. She promised that she'd had a fine day before she left the room.

Mae climbed into bed and set to work on her assignments from the day. If she could get a small chunk done then she could be less stressed about the massive amount of things she needed to do throughout the rest of the year.

But before long, she was asleep with her Defense book on her chest. She couldn't stay awake any longer; she was too tired and irritated with the reading to stay awake. Sleep tended to include dreams about Cedric, and while some were good and some were bad, Mae was just happy to get to see him again. When she woke up the next morning, her heart felt fuller than it had been before. Because in her dream Cedric was alive and he was happy and dating Cho Chang, and Mae had been able to spend good time with her best friend again.

She moved all of her things to the side so she could stretch and then get ready for the day. Mae was determined to have a better day than the first one; she didn't want to get a detention and she really didn't want to yell at her friends again. She moved to the bathroom to brush her teeth and her roommates greeted her happily. And, to her surprise, Mae greeted them back. It was just a small wave and nod, but they seemed just as delighted by it as she was. She wanted to say something about how she was sorry for snapping at them the day before, but she decided to leave well enough alone. It wasn't like she was good friends with the girls anyway, so just being nice to them would suffice.

Mae finished getting ready and moved back into her bedroom to pack up her things for the day. She didn't have Umbridge's class, which was a relief, because she'd have to spend enough time with the woman in detention that night. Mae sighed as she thought about it again; she could hardly stand the new professor, and her mouth was probably going to get her in trouble again. Especially if what Professor McGonagall had said was true. If Umbridge saw her as an ally of Harry Potter's, then she probably wouldn't want Mae to have free time to talk to him or anyone else. If she gave Umbridge the excuse, Mae was confident the woman would put her in detention every day for the rest of the year.


	5. Chapter Five

Mae started off her morning by eating quietly at the Hufflepuff table. She'd considered walking over to apologize to her Gryffindor friends, but the three girls were huddled together with the Weasley twins, and Mae didn't want to disturb them. She wasn't used to sitting and eating alone, but none of the girls from her dormitory were in the great hall yet and even if they were, Mae wasn't convinced she would want to sit with them and eat. They were all so bubbly, and as much as she wanted to have a better day, being bubbly wasn't something she could do. At one point in time it had been her entire personality, but not now.

She shook her head. She'd had a really good dream about Cedric the night before, and she didn't want to think about the fact that he was dead and get sad again. Sadness was different than her silence. She didn't particularly like either of them, but the silence felt somewhat more natural than the sadness, so Mae was going to deal with it.

She kept glancing toward the Gryffindor table, hoping that the girls would notice her sitting alone and come drag her along to sit with them. They were the type of people to do that, but Mae wasn't the type to go and interrupt their conversation. They didn't look up, so Mae didn't move from her spot at the Hufflepuff table until it was time to go to class.

Before too long, it was time to start her classes for the day. Mae tried to catch Angelina's or Alicia's eye in class, but they weren't looking at her. Every fiber of her being told her that they were done with her after she'd yelled at them the night before, so after half a day of trying and failing to get their attention, Mae decided to just let it go. She'd already lost one friend that year; what was three more, really? She could handle it. She'd handle it in silence, but no one ever said that wasn't okay.

Mae didn't bother to go down to the great hall for dinner. She went to her dormitory to work on homework for a while, because she had detention at seven that night and she wanted to get as much done as possible. Small chunks, she realized, wasn't going to work for the year. It was the second day and she was already loaded down with another set of essays and readings to do. She'd have to do each day's homework as it came, though that would mean staying up late on days with quidditch and Mae wasn't exactly looking forward to that. She was mostly just glad her detention was that night and not Thursday, when she'd scheduled quidditch trials for Hufflepuff. The pitch was booked and she didn't want to miss it.

"Best behavior tonight, Mae," she muttered to herself. "No matter how much you want to hex that woman into next week."

She nodded before checking her watch and groaning. She had fifteen minutes to get up to Umbridge's office, and then she'd probably have two hours of lines to do before she came back down and tried to write a Transfiguration essay. Professor McGonagall might like her, but there was no way she'd give Mae extra time to finish just because of a detention.

She walked moderately quickly up the stairs until she got outside the office. Umbridge was just inside, and Mae didn't want to have to stare at her face for two hours. She didn't want to hear her voice for two hours, talking about how Mae should be more polite. Mae sighed and knocked on the door before her feet could drag her away.

It took a moment, but Umbridge soon opened the door and smiled widely. "Miss Willis, so good to see you again. Come in, come in."

Mae caught the door and followed her professor into the room. She raised her eyebrows when she saw Harry Potter sitting at a pink table. The whole room was pink, and Mae took it in with a sick feeling in her stomach. Something about Potter wasn't right; he looked almost panicked to see someone else in the room with him.

"Don't pay him any mind," Professor Umbridge said. "Have a seat."

She gestured to a straight backed chair in front of her desk. Umbridge walked around the desk and sat in a much more comfortable chair, clasping her hands, and turning to look at Mae. "Will I be writing lines, Professor?" Mae forced herself to ask, reaching for her quill.

"We'll decide," Umbridge said. "Miss Willis, I'd like to ask you some questions. Nothing too bad, of course, just fun."

Mae stared at her. Were they having a 'get-to-know-you' before her detention? And why, she wondered, wouldn't Umbridge already know what she was going to do for detention? "What do you want to know?"

"Tut tut, Miss Willis," Professor Umbridge said. "Remember to address your superiors more respectfully." She just stared at Mae for a moment, so Mae reluctantly muttered an apology. "Very good. Now, I'd like you to tell me about Cedric Diggory."

Mae's blood froze. Her mouth hung open and her eyes went wide. She glanced at Harry Potter, who looked stiff, and then looked back at her professor. "I...Professor Umbridge, is this necessary?"

"Quite. On you go." she said sweetly, smiling.

Mae felt like she was going to throw up, so she wrapped her arms around her body and quietly started to speak. "My family's been friends with the Diggory's since before I was born. I didn't know I was a witch-my parents are muggles, and then I found out about Cedric, and I...He's my best friend-was my best friend. We were...we were like family."

"How tragic his accidental death must have been for you," Umbridge said, still smiling. "You do know it was an accident, right Miss Willis?"

"Can we not do this, please?" Mae pleaded softly. Her eyes were quickly filling with tears, and she blinked them back in order to stare at the woman before her. "Please, I...it's just cruel."

Umbridge's smile grew. "That won't do, Miss Willis."

Mae's eyes narrowed slightly. She knew what Umbridge wanted her to say, but she wasn't going to do it. She wasn't going to pretend like Cedric had just died on accident; he'd died for a reason. "A maniac murdered my best friend," she said quietly. "Then tried and failed to murder Harry Potter, and Potter brought back Cedric's body. It wasn't an accident, it was murder."

The smile turned sinister. "You'll be writing lines, Miss Willis." Mae nodded stiffly and reached for her quill, when Umbridge coughed slightly to catch her attention. "You'll be using a rather special quill of mine."

Mae tried to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "What would you like me to write?"

"I want you to write, 'I must not believe lies'. Off you go."

She walked over to the table Harry Potter was sitting at and put her bag down beside her. His parchment, she noticed was filled with the words, I must not tell lies. She wanted to comment that Umbridge clearly wasn't very original with her lines, but she knew that the professor would hear her and would most likely give her detention when she was supposed to be holding quidditch trials.

Harry Potter sent her an uncomfortable look, and Mae just nodded at him. She had a feeling she would have to talk to him once they were released. At the very least, she'd want to tell him that she supported him, because she'd already noticed people avoiding him since the start of the year. She couldn't help but think about the fact that he was still just a kid and that all of this was happening to him in an unfair way. Kids, she thought, should just get to be kids.

Mae winced as she felt a stinging sensation in her hand. She'd hardly started writing Umbridge's lines, and her immediate thought was that she'd been stung by a bee. She wasn't allergic, so a sting would be more annoying than anything else. But when she looked at her hand to inspect the sting, Mae was shocked to see the beginning of the sentence she'd written. It was healing over, but the back of her hand was left red and irritated. She looked back at the first three words to see that they were written in what closely resembled red ink. "Blood…" she whispered, her eyes widening.

"What was that?" Professor Umbridge asked.

She glanced at Harry Potter, who shook his head slightly. "Nothing, Professor." Mae muttered, sighing. She wanted to jump out of her chair and run to find Professor McGonagall, because she was sure that this punishment was illegal in some way. But she wouldn't leave Potter alone in the room with an insane woman, and a larger part of her knew that there probably wasn't anything Professor McGonagall could do.

So she sat stiffly in the desk, writing lines and watching them appear and disappear from the back of her right hand. Mae quickly lose track of time but she knew for a fact that more than two hours had passed. Finally, Umbridge called them over to her desk. She reached for Mae's hand, the one that felt like it was going to permanently be red, but was nowhere near as brightly colored as Potter's hand. Mae yanked her arm back instinctively. "I didn't give you permission to touch me." she said softly. It was the only defense she could think of.

Umbridge grabbed her hand and pulled it toward her, and Mae glared as best as she could. "I expect you'll be back before long." Umbridge said, her voice making Mae feel sick.

She moved on to Harry Potter's hand, and Mae watched as he clenched his jaw and avoided looking at their sadistic professor. She stood rooted to the spot, prepared to drag Harry Potter to McGonagall or Dumbledore as soon as they were dismissed. She didn't care if they couldn't do anything; they deserved to know what their students were being subjected to. But when Umbridge finally excused them, Mae just followed Harry Potter out of the room silently. She continued to walk beside him, in the opposite direction of her common room, until they were a decent ways away from the office.

"I'm-"

"She's not very original with her lines," Mae said, cutting Potter off without a second thought. "We need to tell someone."

"No. I'm not giving her the satisfaction of-"

"Are you insane? We just spent hours cutting into our hands, and you're just going to let her get away with it?"

"No one can do anything," he said stiffly. "She's here because the Ministry wants her to be here. They wouldn't believe us, and they'd just find some way to bury the truth."

"But it's not right." Mae protested.

"Nothing's right anymore, Mae." he muttered.

He turned away from her and took a few steps before Mae called out to him. "Potter! I...I know they're not lies. You've gone through hell-I can see it on your face. You're not lying; I'm not believing lies. Cedric was my best friend," Her voice suddenly became softer. "If anyone knows how hard this is, it's me. So just...Merlin. If you need to talk, just come find me."

He looked as surprised as she felt at her words, but he nodded before quickly walking away. Mae turned around and started back towards her common room. When she returned and looked at the time, she groaned loudly. She summoned her Transfiguration book and pulled out parchment and a quill. She needed to finish her essay, and she wouldn't have time once she woke up. Professor McGonagall would understand if she knew how long the detention had taken, but she'd always expect quality work from Mae.

It took her three hours to do the Transfiguration essay and an assignment she'd gotten that day from Professor Snape. She'd have to turn them both in, and in a quality manner, so doing them sooner rather than later made sense. When she finally got to climb into bed, it was half past three in the morning. She was completely exhausted and ended up sleeping through breakfast to try and get a few more precious minutes of rest.


	6. Chapter Six

Mae managed to keep her mouth shut for the two days following her detention. Quidditch trials were Thursday night, and she didn't want to give Umbridge a reason to give her another detention. She was the captain of the Hufflepuff quidditch team, and she couldn't exactly miss the tryouts. She needed a good team, one that could win matches. Cedric had dreamed of winning the house cup, and Mae wanted to get it for him.

When she finally got done with classes on Thursday afternoon, Mae went straight to the quidditch pitch. This was her first big event as captain, and she didn't want to mess up. She was insanely early though, so for a solid hour and a half, Mae just flew lazily around the pitch. There was a light breeze and the sun was still hanging around, though closer to the horizon than she'd have thought. But flying helped calm her nerves, and she didn't care if she stayed on the pitch until the moon was high in the night sky. She would fly and pick a good team, a winning team.

"Oi!" a voice yelled. Mae shook her head slightly to focus and saw a small group on the ground. She flew down immediately, her heart pounding at the thought of meeting her possible teammates, but the closer she got to the ground, the easier it was to see that hopefuls were not the ones standing on the pitch.

Mae climbed off her broom when she got to the ground and put her hands on her hips, her face slightly pink from the wind. "What the hell are you doing here? These aren't public trials." The majority of the Gryffindor quidditch team just grinned at her. "I'm serious," Mae said, glaring at them. "I've got five minutes before I expect them to be here, and you can't just steal my pitch. I reserved it, Angelina."

"Take a breath," Angelina said, rolling her eyes. "We're not here to steal the pitch."

"Then why are you all here with brooms?"

"We thought we could help," Katie said. "You need chasers and a beater and a seeker. We just-"

"I'm not letting you spy on my team."

"Mae-"

"Get off my pitch, or I'm getting McGonagall down here to remove you herself. She wouldn't support her team spying on mine."

"There's no rule that says we can't be here," Alicia muttered, shifting her broom to her other hand. "Mae, we're not going to interfere with your trials. We're not really even here to help, at least not with those. We're here to help you once they're over."

"Help me?" Mae asked. "What do I need help with? I can put brooms back in the shed myself."

"Not what I meant, and you know that."

Mae flushed, her eyes darting to look at the Weasley twins, who were just standing there with disturbing smiles on their faces. They, she thought, were definitely up to something. "You're distracting me," she said, feeling weaker. "Just… if you're going to be here, then you're going to sit in the stands and not say a word. Do you understand me?"

"Promise not to leave before we get down once they're over." Angelina said firmly.

Mae sighed heavily and nodded. "Yeah, fine. Now go."

They mounted their brooms and took off, landing in the stands and settling down to watch the trials. Mae watched as a relatively large group began trickling onto the grass, and she took a deep breath to try and steady her nerves. They were all shaken up after the arrival of the Gryffindors, and she had a feeling that no one would really be happy to see them there watching.

Her assumption was right; as soon as he arrived and saw them, Zacharias Smith marched over to her. "You're letting them spy on us?" he asked accusingly. "The bloody team beats us every match we play; why do they need more leverage?"

"Shut it," Mae said. She didn't particularly like Zacharias, but he was a good chaser and she couldn't afford to lose him. "Half of them are my friends, and you'll treat them accordingly. Or do you want to risk your spot on the team?"

He glared at her but backed away, and Mae turned to face the group before her. There were quite a few younger kids, probably all trying to be the next quidditch prodigy like Harry Potter was. She sighed, knowing that there was a good chance none of them would make it on the team. Still, she'd give them a fair shot. None of them looked like first years, so they could play on the team without special permission.

"Hey!" she called, getting their attention almost immediately. The quidditch pitch was eerily quiet, and Mae wondered if that was a good thing or not. "You're all here because you want to play quidditch," she said. "I'm here because I want a team that's finally going to crush the Gryffindors."

There was a round of cheering from the Hufflepuffs, but it quickly quieted down.

"That being said, I only need to fill three spots. We've already got two chasers, a beater, and a keeper, and you all know what's left. Those trying for seeker, stand to the left of me, please. Those for the last seeker position, come stand near Zacharias. And if you're trying for beater, go and stand near Jane."

And with that, the trials started. Mae took each group up separately. She made them do basic flying drills and then brought out specific equipment that they'd need for each position. It took a little over an hour of the exercises and Mae writing down different qualities for different people before she had finally finished. She promised to have the list posted within the next day, and the students, all tired, trudged off the pitch and back up the castle. Some were chatting, happy with their performance, and some just looked embarrassed. Mae felt like she was never going to win a single match with the people that had come to the trials.

She nearly forgot about the Gryffindors sitting in the stands until she waved the last Hufflepuff off the pitch. When the timid third year had finally left, Mae heard her friends and the Weasley twins land behind her. She turned around to face them with a large sigh, and put her hands on her hips. "You all saw what I'm working with," she said. "Let me have the night to try and figure out what I'm going to do."

"You promised the rest of your night to us," Alicia said with a smirk. "Come on; mount your broom. We're flying."

"We're flying?" Mae asked, somewhat relieved. She'd imagined something worse in store for her, but she could handle flying. "For how long?"

"Half an hour?" Angelina suggests, looking around their odd group with a slight smile. "First one to a hundred wins?"

"First one to a hundred?" Mae asked, her relief turning to the feeling of stupidity. "Are we playing quidditch? We don't have enough for two teams."

"Have you lost your head?" Katie asked bluntly. "We played quidditch on night two with four people. You don't think we can work it out with six?"

"I'm well aware that we can," Mae said hotly. "It's just been a long day." One of the Weasleys laughed, and Mae glared at him. She hated when people laughed at her, at least now. Laughter reminded her of Cedric, and she didn't want to think about him. "I'm not so sure I want to do this."

"Calm down," Angelina said. "and pick your team. You get two, I get two. And I'm doing you a favor by letting you go first."

Mae rolled her eyes. Her instincts said to pick Katie and Alicia, just to spite the Weasley boys, but she knew how well they played together. "Katie and that Weasley." she said, gesturing to the one who hadn't laughed. "Which one are you?"

"George Weasley, reporting for duty." he said, saluting her and then smirking at his brother.

Mae rolled her eyes. "So how are we playing this? A keeper, chaser, and beater?"

"One bludger?" Angelina says, and Mae nods in agreement. "Right then. Take a couple of minutes, strategize, and then get ready to be crushed."

Mae rolled her eyes and nodded toward the opposite end of the quidditch pitch. Katie and George followed her, laughing about something and seeming too happy. "Alright," she said, once they were far enough away from the other team. "Any suggestions for strategy?"

"I already like you," George Weasley said with a grin. "Don't you like her, Katie? She's asking for our opinion; Wood never did that."

Katie laughed, and Mae rolled her eyes. "I'm glad you like me," she said. "But I'd rather shove a win in Angelina's face, so if you please, can we move onto suggestions?"

"Just go hard?" Katie suggests. "This...isn't really my strong suit. There's a reason why Angelina's the captain."

Mae looked to George, who shrugged. She sighed again; was there no way she could win a match? "Okay," she said, looking over to Angelina, who was gesturing with her hands to Fred and Alicia. "Alright. My guess is that they're going to try and hammer you, Katie. None of them are keepers, and you score amazingly well. So...So George, I want you to watch her back, okay? If I need your help, I'll yell for you, so keep your ears open."

"You don't want me watching your back at all?"

"I can handle myself," Mae replied, "I'll yell if I need you. Keep Katie safe, keep her with the ability to score. Okay?"

He nodded, though he looked mildly apprehensive. "I'll keep my ears open." He smirked and reached into his pocket for a moment, looking at her with a slight smile.

"Whatever that is...I don't want to know," Mae said. "Come on; let's get back. I've got essays to write and I need to get this over with."

They walked back, quieter than they were before. Mae couldn't help but blame herself for that. They'd been happy, and now they were as quiet as her. She'd ruined their good mood with her own lousy one. And all she wanted to do was go back to her dormitory and curl up in bed. Homework didn't even sound like something she was willing to do at the moment, and she usually tried to do as much of it as possible so she'd have free time later on.

"Alright," Angelina said once Mae, Katie, and George stopped walking again. "We're all decent people, so let's avoid fouls. There won't be a seeker or the snitch, so the first person to one hundred points wins. Clean game, yeah?"

"Of course," Mae said, eager to get done and go back to her dormitory. "Let's get in the air."

She mounted and took off before any of the Gryffindors. They followed her, of course, but she could tell that they were all ready to play. She watched as Alicia flew to the other goal posts, and Angelina and Fred took their positions. George and Katie did the same, and with a simple spell, Angelina released the bludger and the quaffle, and the game was on.

Mae didn't have to do much besides just sit in front of the goals. Angelina and Katie were ruthless, and the Weasley twins were doing a good job of keeping the bludger from hitting their respective chaser. She was glad to watch them, because they worked better as a team but still incredibly well when they were separate. It took a full three and a half minutes before Mae had to try and block a quaffle, which she did easily enough. Angelina looked irritated, but she swerved quickly to get back into the fray.

Time went on and Mae lost herself in the game. She blocked shots by Angelina and, while she missed three, Alicia had let through at least eight in half an hour. She was embarrassed by a couple of the shots she'd missed, but she knew that Alicia was fairing worse than her. She was an amazing chaser, but being a keeper wasn't the easiest thing in the world, and it couldn't be learned in a night.

As she thought this, however, there was a sharp pain in the back of her head. She couldn't make a sound. Mae lost her grip on her broom and started to fall. She tumbled through the air, finally yelling in fear. Her friends and the Weasleys all yelled too, and as she fell, Mae saw them start to fly in her direction. The pain from the blow to the back of her head started to worsen, and before she got close to hitting the ground, Mae's world went black.


	7. Chapter Seven

Mae woke up with a groan. Her head was throbbing, and she couldn't remember why. It all came back in a rush of memories: the blow to the back of her head, slipping, falling, tumbling through the air. She wondered, then, if that meant that she was dead. And if she was, then why did it hurt so much? She hadn't expected death to hurt so much.

"Mae?" It was a boy's voice, and she vaguely recognized it.

"Cedric?" It was her first instinct. He was her favorite person who'd died, and she couldn't imagine a better introduction to some kind of afterlife.

"No," the voice said. It was gentle, but it didn't sound like Cedric. She suddenly felt like crying because he wasn't there with her. She'd hoped and it had just ruined everything. "Hey, open your eyes. You're okay."

She realized that she was on grass, and Mae groaned again. She kept her eyes closed for another moment before she opened them slowly. "What happened?"

"Bludger came out of nowhere," Angelina said, sounding furious. "How the hell did it get out of the case? Because George had just hit one toward me, and then we heard you scream and saw one flying away."

Mae groaned and pushed herself up into a sitting position. The world spun and she felt like she was going to throw up. "Hey, take it easy," a Weasley said. She saw his shirt and knew then that it was George. "Fred managed to catch you, but you still took a nasty blow."

"We need to get you to the hospital wing," Katie said. "And Fred too. He's an idiot; I swear he broke his wrist."

"He caught me?" Mae asked. "He was halfway across the pitch."

"He flew like a maniac," Alicia said, smirking at someone. Mae turned her head to see Fred Weasley standing to her left, nursing his wrist but smiling all the same. "Come on, Mae. Let's get you up and to the hospital wing."

With the help of Katie and Alicia, Mae managed to get off the ground. The world spun again, but her friends steadied her and Mae managed to start walking toward the castle. They supported her the whole way, eerily quiet as they all tried to figure out what had happened. Madam Pomfrey wasn't thrilled when they walked into the hospital wing. She disliked quidditch as much as normal, and started ranting about how dangerous it was before Mae could even tell her what had happened. She forced Mae to sit down and told Fred Weasley to sit in the bed next to her. Once they were sitting, she sent their friends out of the room. George Weasley looked the most reluctant to leave, but after a few quiet words with Fred he went, wishing them both well.

Madam Pomfrey went over to grab a potion for Mae, and Fred Weasley finally spoke to her. "So how did we end up this way?" he asked, still holding his wrist. "I haven't gotten hurt in quidditch like this for years."

"Me either," Mae admitted, relieved that the terrible feeling in her head had started to go away. "I'm sorry you got hurt."

He shrugged. "George and I have had worse. I wasn't about to let you fall all the way to the ground. We lost one Hufflepuff, and I think there'd be a revolt if we lost another one."

Mae stared at him, frowning. "Do you have to talk about Cedric that way?"

"Sorry," he said. "Not used to people who love him. Half of Gryffindor was bitter about that win two years ago."

Mae smiled slightly. She knew exactly what he was talking about, and she couldn't blame him for being upset. The dementors never should have been within the grounds, and they easily could have gotten Harry Potter hurt. "He felt awful about that," she said. "Honestly, he talked for two weeks straight about how the match should be replayed so that everyone had a fair chance."

"Don't make me like him," Fred said. He was smirking again, and Mae was starting to realize that it was like a permanent feature on his face. "I spent a year being bitter, and I can't go back now."

Mae rolled her eyes. She was about to say more when Madam Pomfrey came back to the bed she was sitting on. "Here," she said, shaking her head. "Take this, for your head. You've got a concussion. A bludger hit the back of your head and I had no idea how your skull's intact."

"Thank you," Mae said, because she didn't want to upset her. "May I leave now?"

"Leave? Are you kidding me? No, you're staying until the morning. I need to be sure that you're healing well." Madam Pomfrey said. "I'll have dinner brought here for you."

Mae sighed and leaned against the back of the bed. It wasn't exactly how she'd planned on spending her night, but at least it would leave her with a bit of peace and quiet. "I'm feeling rather sick," Fred Weasley said, drawing attention to himself once again. "I think I'll have to stay overnight too."

"Mr. Weasley, you're fine," Madam Pomfrey said, frowning at him. She looked at his wrist and quickly said a spell. "You can go."

He coughed, and it was so obviously fake that Mae wanted to laugh. But laughing felt wrong because Cedric wasn't around for her to laugh with anymore, so she didn't want to do it. "I'm sick."

"Mr. Weasley-"

"I'll make myself comfortable," he said, stretching out on the bed and leaning back in the same way as Mae. "Thanks, Pomfrey. I'll feel better in the morning, I'm sure."

Madam Pomfrey looked like she wanted to yell at him to leave, but she seemed to know well enough that he'd do whatever he wanted to. "I'll be back to check on you soon, Ms. Willis. Mr. Weasley, do try not to bother her too much."

He saluted her, and Mae rolled her eyes, fighting back another laugh. It felt weird, holding back so much, but she didn't want anyone to think that she had just forgotten Cedric's existence. Mae swallowed hard, fighting to keep control over herself. She was upset over the loss of her best friend, and she couldn't forget that.

"So what are we going to do?" Fred Weasley asked once Madam Pomfrey was out of earshot. "We do have the whole hospital wing to ourselves, and I for one don't want to spend the night just lying in bed."

"Didn't Madam Pomfrey say not to bother me?"

"You, my friend-"

"We're not friends."

"-need some cheering up. We were trying to do that with quidditch, but that backfired pretty quickly."

"Why are you trying to cheer me up? I don't need cheering up. I'm perfectly cheerful."

"Sure about that, are you?"

"Confident."

"So all of this has been for nothing? I broke my wrist when you were already cheerful? I'm going to have to speak with Angelina about this. I have a lot of complaints."

"You know, since I'm already cheerful, you could go back to your dormitory. No one would blame you."

"Right you are," he said, the smirk back in place on his lips. "But this bed is just so comfortable that I think I'll stay." She couldn't help herself anymore; she let out a soft chuckle, and Fred Weasley grinned triumphantly. "I knew I could do it."

"Oh shut up," Mae muttered, turning away from him and closing her eyes. "You're ridiculous."

"You offend me," Fred said. "I'm _utterly_ ridiculous. How dare you not give me full credit."

Mae tried not to listen to him. She didn't want to hear what he was saying or laugh and forget her pain over Cedric's death. It wasn't okay for her to not feel upset over his death. If she didn't feel upset, then really, what kind of friend was she? Not a good one, that was for sure. She needed to be a good friend to Cedric, even if he wasn't around anymore.

Fred Weasley managed to be moderately quiet for about ten minutes. He whistled all throughout that time and Mae was sure he was going to drive her insane, but at the very least he wasn't talking. She wasn't really sure if she could handle him talking nonstop for however long he was going to hang around in the hospital wing. Because he knew as well as she did that he didn't actually feel sick, and that he was just staying there because she was. If she'd been able to go back to her dormitory, then they would both be separate and happy at the moment. He could plan jokes and pranks with his brother and she could do her homework without distraction.

But once those ten minutes were up, it seemed that Fred Weasley had gone through as much quiet as he could handle. "Okay, please, let's do something. Pomfrey won't be thrilled but anything's better than just sitting here."

"Quit acting like you're sick and go do something with your brother. I'm sure he'd be happy to have you back."

"Ron? No, he's likely to be with Hermione. George, if that's who you mean, is working with Lee to figure out how a stray bludger got you in the back of the head."

"What?" Mae asked, opening her eyes to look at him.

"Lee Jordan? About this tall," he said, putting his hand high above his head. "Has dreadlocks and, quite frequently, a tarantula. The man loves them."

"I know who Lee Jordan is. I meant, what are they doing that for?"

"George has always fancied himself as a detective," Fred said. "I think it's because he likes muggle detective books, but then again, he'd have to convince Mum to buy them for us and she's not nearly as happy with them. She doesn't like murder, you see."

"Fred-"

"Anyway, Lee's the best sidekick you could ask for. And when I was wrestling the bludger back into the crate, the one that didn't have a nice time whacking you in the skull, I saw that the second one hadn't actually been released. Which means-"

"Some attacked me with a bludger?" Mae asked, shocked. "Why would anyone-"

She stopped, thinking back to Umbridge and the smile that made Mae feel like she was going to throw up. But Umbridge was a professor and a ministry official; she wouldn't attack a student with something worse than her quills.

"Any ideas, Ms. Willis?" Fred asked. "I'm confident that George's investigation has turned up nothing; he's a terrible detective."

"Me? Ideas? No, I...It must have just been an accident. Some first years probably dared themselves to catch it outside the pitch and it just...did it's duty. You can call of the investigation; I think I've solved the mystery."

"Ah, that does make sense."

"Right. So you're good to leave now, yeah? I can spend some time by myself?"

"No, no I don't think that's the plan."

"Plan? What plan?"

"My plan," Fred said. "I promised that I'd make sure you were alright."

"Is this some Gryffindor thing?" Mae asked, slightly irritated that people thought she wouldn't be alright on her own. "Some insane sense of responsibility? Because if it is-"

"Did you know that not everything is about being a Gryffindor? I'm starting to resent that sentiment."

Mae blushed and looked away, her hands in her lap. "I'm sorry if I offended you."

There was a moment of silence before she heard him laugh, and Mae looked at him again to see a playful look in his eyes. "Bloody hell," he said. He looked truly happy, and Mae was immediately convinced that he'd never lost anyone important to him. "You're amusing. I like you."

"Okay. You're utterly ridiculous." Mae said.

He laughed, and she smiled but managed to keep from laughing too. A part of her hated Fred Weasley for making her feel happy. She knew that Cedric wouldn't want her to feel miserable, but she needed it. She needed to feel miserable because it was better than happy without him. Fred Weasley, she feared, was out to ruin that.


	8. Chapter Eight

On Friday morning, Madam Pomfrey decided that Mae was fine to go to classes that day. Fred Weasley requested a check too, and Madam Pomfrey just barked at him to go to breakfast. She'd had enough of his foolishness and didn't seem to be willing to listen to any more of it. Mae couldn't help but feel amused by her exasperation, because it mirrored her own. Fred Weasley, she'd learned, had talked for hours about nothing in particular. He was funny, there was no doubt about that, but Mae had the strong desire to hex him and that wasn't going to go away. So as soon as she was released from the hospital wing, Mae ran out of the room. She needed to get away from him as quickly as possible, and he was still demanding a check up.

He called after her as she fled, but Mae ignored him easily enough. She went to her dormitory and changed into her school robes. She wanted to just stay in her dormitory and sleep in what was actually a comfortable bed, but she had Umbridge's class that day, and she didn't want to skip and then have a detention. Umbridge already hated her enough, and Mae wasn't about to give her another reason to.

She decided to skip breakfast, because it would give her some extra time to work on homework. She hadn't brought her bag with her to the quidditch pitch, and she hadn't wanted it flying through the corridors as she summoned it to her. Anyone could have caught it and gone through it, and Mae didn't really want to lose her possessions. She'd lost plenty of them before, and it was the worst thing in the world.

She did Transfiguration first, because McGonagall was the only professor she cared about impressing anymore. McGonagall was assigning more homework than Mae was accustomed to, but she was trying her best to keep up. The week hadn't exactly been easy to keep up with though, because of her detention, the quidditch trials, and the night in the hospital wing. She was doing her best; she guessed that she would be doing better if she felt like she could breathe more often. But that feeling only came about when she was flying, and Mae couldn't ride a broom for the rest of her life.

Her first class of the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and as she sat down in a chair in the middle of the room, Mae wanted to swear. They'd had an essay due. She hadn't thought it would be so difficult and had planned to finish it after quidditch trials, but that obviously hadn't happened. "Umbridge is going to kill me." she muttered, putting her head on the desk in defeat. She'd always handed in assignments, so she didn't exactly have experience with what would happen. She was confident that Umbridge would give her detention, at least a day or two of it because she was spiteful. Mae would be stuck writing lines again, and they would appear on the back of her hand. She wondered if they would continue to disappear the more that she wrote them, or if they would just disappear at the end of the night without a trace.

"I think she'd like to kill us all," a voice said from beside her. Mae couldn't help but groan. "Why you in particular?"

"Why are you sitting here?" Mae asked. "Go sit with your brother; I've had enough of you. And I don't think he has yet."

"George'll never get enough of me," Fred said. "Why is Umbridge going to kill you?"

"I didn't do the assignment," Mae muttered. He wasn't going to leave her alone, and she couldn't see lying to him as a good solution for the rest of the class period. He didn't seem like he was going to move, at least, and she would just have to humor him. "I was going to do it last night, after the trials, and then…"

"Do you want mine?" Fred asked. "I could just get rid of my name and write yours."

"No!" Mae said, too quickly. "No, it's fine." Fred Weasley wasn't her favorite person because he was too happy, but she didn't want him to carve words into his hand too. "I can handle a detention."

"But if we hadn't-"

"Fred, it's fine."

He smiled slightly. "You know, you never really say my name."

"Oh for Merlin's sake," Mae said, rolling her eyes. "You're insufferable."

"Where'd your jokes go? You used to make jokes all the time; I'd hear you make them." He sounded genuinely curious, and Mae was shocked that someone other than her friends had noticed.

"Pretty sure they died with my best friend."

"Mae-"

"Good morning, Class."

"Good morning, Professor Umbridge." they all replied, resigning themselves to an hour and a half of pure torture.

"I'll collect your essays first; set them on the corner of your desk."

She started walking around the room, collecting the rolls of parchment. Mae sat with her head down as Umbridge walked around the room. Their professor's heels clicked on the floor, and the pink blob stopped in front of her. "Ms. Willis, where is your essay?"

"I forgot it, Professor Umbridge."

"You forgot the only homework I've given you in the past two days?"

"I had quidditch trials, and I got injured and had to spend the night in the hospital wing, and-"

"Tut, tut," Professor Umbridge said, clicking her tongue. "That just won't do. Four days of detention should do the trick, and help you learn to remember your homework."

"Professor-"

"No arguments, or it will be more. I'll see you in my office at five tonight, Ms. Willis."

She moved on, taking Fred's essay and continuing around the room. No one else had forgotten, and Mae felt horribly alone in her failure. Once the essays were collected, Professor Umbridge walked back to the front of the room to begin the lesson. The entirety of her part was to tell them which chapter to begin reading. Once again, Mae was confident that she was going to fall asleep. The readings were some of the most boring things in the world, and she didn't know how Umbridge expected to get through a whole year of lessons with one lousy book on the theory of defensive magic.

Fred Weasley moved throughout the whole lesson. He bounced his leg for a bit, and then tapped his fingers against their desk. He shook his head every few minutes as if it was helping him refocus. Mae found his movement infectious, and soon enough she was tapping her fingers on the desk too, to the tune of a song that her mother had liked to play. She glanced at Fred when she felt him watching her, and he smiled. Mae rolled her eyes at him. She stopped the tapping when Umbridge cleared her throat and sent a pointed in her direction.

She managed to get through the whole class without another glare or angry words. She packed up her things as quickly as possible when the bell sounded to end class, and hurried out of the classroom. Fred followed closely behind her, and behind him were his brother and her friends.

"She definitely hates you," Fred said, folding his arms across his chest. "What'd you do to her? I've neglected to turn in loads of essays and I've never gotten four detentions for it."

"I wouldn't tell her what she wanted to hear last time," Mae said, blushing. She didn't know why they were giving her so much attention, but it was really starting to bother her. "She wanted me to say that Harry Potter was a liar, and I wouldn't do it. So now she hates me. It's fine; I can handle writing lines for four nights."

"What did she want you to say that for?" Angelina asked, coming closer and looking genuinely upset.

"She's with the ministry, isn't she? They're all denying the story. I can't imagine they'd like us believing him."

"Merlin," Alicia said, shaking her head. "That's insane. You're supporting a teenager and she's coming after you."

"What can I say?" Mae asked. "I guess I'm just easy to hate."

"Not so much," Angelina said. "We're competitors and I still like you."

Her friends laughed, and Mae tried to avoid the cheerful sound as best as possible. She walked toward her next class to get away from them, but she couldn't escape them for long. She shared her next class with Angelina, who ran to catch up with her so they could walk to class together. "You can't just run off," Angelia said, shaking her head. "You've still got friends, you know."

"I-You were busy with the Weasleys and Alicia, and I didn't want to interrupt."

"Mae," Angelina said, shaking her head. "Come on. I know that this year hasn't been easy, but we could help you. And...I love you, you know that. Cedric did too, and he wouldn't want you to do this to yourself. It's like you disappeared. You used to laugh all the time; you never stopped making jokes. You were basically the Fred and George of Hufflepuff. And now…"

"Why don't you lose your best friend and then tell me how easy it is to just go back to normal." Mae said hotly.

She sped up, trying to get away from Angelina. She was surprised when Angelina didn't speed up with her, but Mae tried not to think about that too much. It did, however, keep her from going to the great hall for lunch. Instead she went outside, well aware that her stomach was rumbling softly. She hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch, and she was used to eating three times a day minimum. Mae loved food, and it never really stuck to her. But she hadn't really been eating well since coming back to school, and she knew that it probably had something to do with her feelings about Cedric. She wanted to go down to dinner that night, but she'd probably spend her time between class and detention doing homework to avoid getting detention again.

Mae spent her lunch trying to form a quidditch team. She needed to have the list posted before she went to detention, because she'd scheduled their first practice for Sunday morning and she needed to actually have the practice. The players that were already on the team were pretty good, but the new ones needed a lot of work. It took her a while to get it exactly as she wanted it, but Mae finally had a team. She smiled slightly, relieved to at least have it done. The smile was wiped away as she checked the time and realized that she needed to be in Potions in three minutes. She grabbed her things and took off running, unwilling to get a detention from Professor Snape too.

She got to class on time but out of breath. Mae took her seat just as Professor Snape glared at her and started the lesson. She could feel eyes on her, and it made her stare at her hands for the first part of the lesson. Then, of course, she missed what they were supposed to be doing, and she had to ask Professor Snape for instruction. He snapped at her for being irresponsible in his highest level class, and Mae tried to apologize but quickly got shut down by her professor.

The day was not exactly a good one. It ended with Mae in Professor Umbridge's office with Harry Potter, and she couldn't really decide if that was better or worse than getting yelled at by Professor Snape for a full five minutes while her class just listened and snickered. As soon as she started writing with Umbridge's evil quill, though, Mae knew that she'd rather be yelled at than cut into her skin. Umbridge eventually let Harry Potter go around nine that night, and Mae watched enviously as he practically ran out of the room. She was stuck there until at least half past eleven. She went back to her dormitory, exhausted, her hand throbbing, yet somewhat pleased that her misery was intact for the day.


	9. Chapter Nine

Saturday morning was not something that Mae experienced. She passed out when she got to her dormitory and didn't wake up until close to one in the afternoon. She rarely slept past nine on weekends so when she first looked at the clock, she didn't believe it. She thought that the girls in her dormitory were playing some kind of trick on her, but none of them were in the room to see the joke play out. "How the hell…" she muttered, rubbing her forehead and realizing that her stomach and head ached.

Mae climbed out of her bed and stretched, trying to wake herself up. "Lunch is over," she said with a sigh. The house elves were probably cleaning dishes and wouldn't be thrilled if she came into the kitchens and made extra work for them. "Do I have...bloody hell."

She didn't have anything to eat left in her trunk, she discovered. She must have eaten the last of her granola on the train and she hadn't thought to save any. So instead of sitting on her bed and snacking, Mae got dressed and grabbed her book bag. She'd glanced out the window and it looked like it was nice outside, and Mae didn't think that being in the sun would hurt her too much.

She settled down near Hagrid's hut. She liked the large professor; she'd kept taking Care of Magical Creatures after her fifth year because she thought he was interesting. She wasn't pleased that he was gone, but Mae assumed he'd be back before too long.

Mae sat in the middle of a grassy area with no shade, and the sun beating down on her back. There was no wind, so she didn't have to worry about her parchment blowing away. There were a lot of people out on the grounds, probably enjoying what was bound to be one of the nicest days left in the year, but they didn't bother her. Mae worked on the essay for Umbridge, determined to at least turn it in, and then an essay for Professor Sprout that she'd been assigned on Thursday. She was outside for just under four hours before she had to hurry to Professor Umbridge's office for detention.

She knocked, and a moment later the door opened slowly. Umbridge was seated at her desk and didn't bother to look up when Mae entered the room. Her stomach growled, which finally made Umbridge glance at her. "I've already set out the quill and the parchment, Ms. Willis."

"Thank you, Professor Umbridge," Mae forced herself to speak politely. She was stuck with the woman for three more nights, including this one, and she was hopeful that a positive attitude would mean she could leave a bit earlier. "I, um, wanted to apologize for not having my essay yesterday. I did write one for you though. I don't expect credit, but I wanted you to know that I care about your class." It was a lie; Mae was confident that the class was a joke. But Professor Umbridge didn't need to know that.

Umbridge narrowed her eyes. "What do you want, Ms. Willis?"

Mae's face warmed. "Nothing, I swear. I just...I always complete my work, and I-"

"Obviously not always," she said. She held out her hand, and Mae reluctantly gave her the essay. Umbridge promptly lit it on fire. "Sit down, please, and begin your lines. You know what to write."

She tried not to stare at her professor in shock as she sank into the straight-backed chair. Mae had never had a professor do something like that before, and she wasn't quite sure how to react. A part of her wanted to yell, but she forced that part down by repeating 'be positive' in her head every few seconds.

The lines began. Mae couldn't help but let out a small gasp as the words appeared in her skin for the first time. Blood soon started to trickle down her hand, and Mae bit her lip to keep herself focused on a different type of pain. Before long, though, she didn't have to bite her lip to distract herself, because various other aches and pains started to occupy her mind. Her skin felt hot and uncomfortable, and she knew without looking at herself that she had a bad sunburn. Her head started to pound, only on the right side, and her stomach clenched painfully pretty much constantly now.

She lasted an hour with the aches, and then she didn't think she could handle them anymore. "Professor," Mae said, her voice thick. She hated what she was about to ask; she didn't really want Umbridge to do anything for her. "I...I think I should go to the hospital wing. I'm...My stomach, and my skin, and my head…"

Umbridge smirked at her. "You should have thought of that earlier. You will sit here and write lines until I dismiss you."

Mae felt her eyes start to water. She couldn't believe that Umbridge was a teacher; any decent professor would help a student who was in distress and wanted to go to the hospital wing. There wasn't really anything she could do though, so she went back to writing lines as her head pounded in revolt.

Soon enough, tears started to fall from her eyes. Her headache had gotten worse, making up for the pain in her stomach going away slightly. She was more miserable than she'd been in a while, and she was so frustrated that she couldn't stop herself from crying. Mae looked up after a few minutes because she felt Umbridge looking at her. The woman was smiling. Mae considered glaring at her, but before she could decide if she really wanted to, she caught sight of something outside the window.

She had to fight not to react. One of the Weasley twins was sitting on his broom outside the window. He was holding something-Mae quickly realized that it was a sandwich-but as he made eye contact with her, his playful grin disappeared and a somber look replaced it. Mae watched as he pulled out his wand and wrote, "Do you need help?" on the window.

Mae looked down and managed to shake her head slightly. She couldn't ask him to help because he could easily get a detention and have to carve words into his hand too. Mae wanted to protect him, even though she didn't really like or dislike him. When she chanced a glance at the window again, he was gone. The sun hung low in the sky and Mae tried to focus on writing lines as her headache kept tears in her eyes.

She didn't know how long she'd been in Umbridge's office when her professor quietly told her to come to the desk. She took Mae's hand and Mae stared in the opposite direction, trying to avoid throwing up. Her stomach churned every time Umbridge touched her, and considering it already wasn't in the best state, Mae didn't want to take any chances. "Hopefully by tomorrow it will sink in more," Umbridge said. "Though it should at least stick now. Off you go, Ms. Willis."

Mae didn't need to be told twice; she walked quickly out of the office and immediately started in the direction of the hospital wing. She was starting to think that her headache, which had yet to disappear or improve, was actually a migraine, and she didn't want to be incapacitated for her quidditch practice. Madam Pomfrey would just have to accept being woken up at-she checked her watch and groaned-one o'clock in the morning.

She was two corridors away from the office when she heard, "Psst-Mae!" and jumped about a foot in the air, clutching her chest as she looked around with wide eyes.

A freckled Weasley stepped out from the shadows, looking concerned. "One? How can she keep you so late?"

"I- _which one_ -"

"Fred, it's Fred," he said, sounding mildly irritated. "How can she keep you this late?"

"Because she has unchecked power. I...I just want to go to the hospital wing and then go to bed, so I...I don't know why you're here, but I'm going to go, so…"

She trailed off, watching his eyes travel down to her right hand. She hastily put it behind her back, and looked at him again. She wasn't used to seeing the Weasley twins look so angry. "What the hell-"

"It's fine," Mae said quickly. "Fred, it's fine. Don't overreact. I...slipped and fell a few seconds ago and I guess it's worse than I thought, but-"

"I'm not an idiot," he said defensively. "There are words in your hand, Willis."

"Are we on a last name basis now, Weasley?" she challenged. All of this was just making her head feel worse, and she was pretty sure she was going to pass out in the middle of the corridor before she made it to the hospital wing.

"Is she doing this to you?"

"Fred-"

"Merlin, did she do it to Harry too?"

Mae looked away from him and rubbed her forehead with her hand. It hurt when she did, because of the sunburn, but she hadn't been thinking about that when she reached up. "Look," she said, her voice shaking, "Harry made the decision not to tell anyone, and I'm not going to break it. I don't know why she's doing this or how she plans to do it without kids breaking the silence, but I'm not going to be the first one to complain. And...And I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday, because I was too busy ignoring you to eat last night's dinner, and I wasn't awake this morning...My head feels like it's splitting open, and my skin burns, so if you could please just get out of my way-"

She stopped when he held something out to her. It was the sandwich she'd seen earlier. "I thought you might be hungry. And when I saw you through the window, I figured you might need this." He handed over the sandwich and a potion that was supposed to heal a sunburn immediately. "I didn't know about your head; if I did, I would have brought something for it too."

Mae felt like she was going to cry. She'd yelled at him, and he'd been trying to do something nice for her. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, not looking at him again. "I'm...Fred, I'm just…"

"Do you want to fly tomorrow? Angelina said you reserved the pitch in the morning, and I know you've got detention at five, but between that…"

"Why do you want to fly with me?"

He shrugged. "George and I are working hard on our business," he said, puffing out his chest in pride. "I could use a break-and even if I didn't want one, he's got a plan to take Lee to Hogsmeade. My own twin brother couldn't even invite me to come along; what's the world come to?"

"So I'm a replacement for George then?"

"Precisely, my dear Puff."

"Your-what?"

"I think I'm odder late at night," he said, his grin returning.

"You're odd all the time," Mae muttered. "Practice ends at noon tomorrow."

His smile grew, which had seemed impossible a moment ago. "Perfect. I'll be there. Come on; I'll take you to the hospital wing. Swallow that sunburn potion though; I stole it from Pomfrey's potion cupboard and she doesn't need to know that it was one of us."

Mae tipped the liquid into her mouth and swallowed, despite a foul taste. "Thanks," she said softly. "I...I appreciate you doing all of this for me. You could get in trouble, you know that right?"

He shrugged. "It wouldn't be the first time, now would it."

The corners of her lips tilted up, which felt wrong but so, so right. "No, I don't suppose it would be. What's your business?"

"I was hoping you'd ask," Fred said. "George and I are revolutionizing the way jokes and pranks are played. We came into a bit of money last year and are planning on opening a joke shop. Hermione-you know Hermione, right?" Mae nodded, and he continued. "She's been a bit of a challenge. We're offering payment to some first years to test the projects, and she stops us at every opportunity."

Mae wasn't surprised; she knew Hermione Granger to be a strict rule follower, even if she was nice. "I'll help, if you want," she offered, surprising herself. "I just-I mean, if it's for your future career, then what's the harm?'

"I-You'd do that for me?" he asked. He seemed touched, and Mae turned red.

"I...Yeah, I suppose I would."

They were nearing the hospital wing, and Fred looked around before stopping her and smiling. "You have to promise not to tell anyone."

Mae raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"

He grinned triumphantly and said, "I'll tell you more about it when we're flying tomorrow. I should go-Pomfrey's likely to call Filch if she sees me up, but I'll see you tomorrow." He was already walking away, a spring to his step, when he turned around and softly called, "Mae! Don't forget to eat that sandwich-you look about ready to pass out."

She nodded and turned to face the door of the hospital wing. A smile came over her face without her consent, and she shook her head slightly before pushing open the doors to ask for something to help her headache. Fred Weasley, she realized, was making her happy, the kind of happy she'd been when Cedric was alive. The Gryffindor was dangerous, and she'd have to be more careful around him.


	10. Chapter Ten

Sunday morning came with eager feelings. Mae was excited to lead her first practice, even if she wasn't sure how well it would go. Her players weren't exactly the dream team, but she was confident after some thought that they would be able to make her proud-more importantly, they would be able to make Cedric proud. Mae got up and actually ate that morning, because she'd felt miserable sitting in the hospital wing for half an hour while Madam Pomfrey thoroughly checked her over to make sure she didn't have a concussion still. She hadn't been allowed to eat the sandwich that Fred had given her until close to two, and while she'd enjoyed it, she'd mostly been focused on going to bed.

Even though she was tired, Mae was happy. Quidditch was something she could do in any mood; she played well whether she was angry or sad or elated. Considering that her current mood was better than it had been in a while, she was confident that she'd be able to pump up the team and get them all working well together. She couldn't help but think about that as she ate breakfast by herself. She was one of the first ones in the great hall, which was unusual for her, so she was trying to stay quiet to avoid irritating the others. Thoughts were a good way to feel quiet, though every now and then she would snort as she thought back to a particularly bad toss one of the chasers had made during the trials.

Mae went down to the quidditch pitch once she'd finished eating. She wanted to get everything set up before the other players got there, and she had to decide what she was going to say to them when they arrived. Every quidditch captain she'd had made good, short speeches to encourage the team, and Mae wanted to do it too. "Thank you all for coming...sorry it's early…" she muttered to herself, shaking her head almost immediately. She was busy hiding small golden balls around the pitch that she was going to have the seeker try and find within a certain amount of time. She hoped that it would help her seeker, a girl named Rose, learn to really look around the pitch for them. She was well aware that Rose would never beat Harry Potter when it came to seeking, but she was hopefully that Rose would at least prove a challenge for him.

She didn't have to wait for her team to come down and join her on the pitch. They were all there before eight, which was a relief because then she didn't have to deal with yelling at someone for being late. "Well," she said, feeling a bit awkward. "Let's get started, shall we? Today's just about getting used to each other, and used to your roles. So, Zacharias, Ellie, Mark, I want you to start tossing the quaffle back and forth to get used to the way you move on your brooms, and to how you interact. Luke and Ely, I'm going to send out one beater for today-keep it away from the rest of us. And Rose, I've hidden twenty-seven gold balls all around the pitch. Find them."

Her team nodded and set off to work, and Mae took off on her broom to watch them and, on occasion, block the shots that Zacharias attempted to throw through the goals. After an hour, she was sure that they were all used to each other and used to watching out and making sure they weren't about to collide. She called the team over to her and changed up the exercise so that they were all practicing together, and not in separate groups. She didn't want them to feel divided, or like they weren't all a part of the same team, and that meant she needed to work them together.

They worked for another two hours after that, with breaks here and there to get water or to just sit and collect themselves. Mae worried that her first training session was a bit too long, being three hours total, but she's only scheduled it that way to know that her team was committed to the sport. She couldn't have them complaining about a practice that lasted two or so hours, and they wouldn't do that after enduring three hours of hard work.

It was finally noon, and Mae called her team down. "Thank you," she said once they were all standing before her. "I know this sucked, practicing being this long, but it won't happen again. I appreciate all of you coming here on a Sunday. Now go do something fun, okay? I'll get everything packed away here."

There was a chorus of replies that Mae didn't catch. Her attention had shifted to the figure that was flying above her, and his striking red hair. "Go on," she said. "I'll take care of everything. See you in the common room later."

Her team filed off the field and into the changing rooms. Mae watched them with a slight smile before turning to look up at Fred. "Are you coming up?" he yelled down to her.

"Come down here!" Mae replied, gesturing to the pile of golden balls beside her. "I've got some cleaning up to do!"

She was confident that he rolled his eyes, but he was too far away and she couldn't really tell. "To think," he said once he landed and climbed off his broom, "that I wanted a nice fly on a Sunday morning and all I get is to clean up after your team."

Mae frowned at him. "You're free to leave. No one's holding you here."

He smirked at her. "And miss out on an opportunity to see you? Why would I do that?"

"We're not really friends, Fred," Mae said, turning her back to him. "No one would blame you for not spending time with me. I wouldn't even be offended."

"What do you mean we're not friends?" he asked, his voice raising slightly as he tried to sound upset. "This is news to me, Mae. I've been operating under the idea that we're friends for years." "You do realize that this is the first year we've even really talked?"

"Oh please," he said, "Did you think I missed all of the smiles you sent me? We're both funny people. Funny people have a connection."

"Right," Mae said, not really listening to him anymore. "That's what this is. I do seriously have to clean up though, so if you're upset by that then you should probably go."

He picked up one of the golden balls that she'd had Rose train with. "How long do you think it'll take for us to get bored?"

"Considering the fact that I already am, probably not long."

"Want to do something fun?"

"I really need to clean up, Fred."

"I have a way that we could clean up and have fun."

"I highly doubt that," Mae said, rolling her eyes. "You should really go find George or Lee and do something with them; they'll be more accepting of something than me."

She leaned over to put the quaffle back in the case of balls for quidditch, and gasped when she felt something wet hit the back of her neck. Mae straightened up and was about to yell at Fred when she saw that he was holding what looked like a gold sponge soaked with water. "If you don't grab some, I'm going to win this war."

"What _war_ -Fred!" she yelled when he chucked another one and caught her in the chest. She'd expected it to hurt because she knew he'd just transfigured the balls, but the blow didn't really phase her except for the fact that it was wet. She looked at him in shock and watched as he grabbed another water-filled sponge to launch at her. "No, don't you dare-it's not warm enough for this!"

He didn't seem to care that it wasn't exceptionally warm. He let the next sponge fly and Mae dodged it easily. It took her a second to decide if she was going to dive for the sponges near her to get some to throw back at him. He grinned when he saw what she was doing, and half of her wanted to yell at him for making her do this. But then, after a moment's hesitation, she knew that he hadn't actually forced her to do anything. This was something that she would have done with Cedric-similar to how they'd spent a lot of summers, actually.

Fred was right; once Mae started throwing wet sponges back at him, the quidditch pitch turned into a battleground. Mae couldn't stop herself from getting into their game and throwing as many sponges as she could at Fred, trying to hit him anywhere. She managed a few good shots to the side of his face and his chest, and he caught her quite a bit in the arms and legs. She shocked herself by laughing loudly, but that just seemed to prompt him to throw the sponges harder.

It took twenty minutes for Mae to finally call a truce. Her clothes were soaking wet and Fred's hair was dripping, and she was starting to feel chilled. "Okay!" she yelled. He was a ways away, but he heard her and perked up. "Okay, let's call it a tie! Please?"

"I'd say I won," he retorted, creeping closer to her with a sponge in hand. "Admit it!"

" _Fred_!"

" _Mae_!" he said mockingly.

"You're a jerk," she yelled. "Fred, stop!"

He ran toward her at full speed, and Mae took off. She had a sponge of her own, and she was bound and determined to end the war. Mae threw her sponge and managed to hit him in the forehead, and she ducked under his throw. She ran towards him again and he laughed joyfully before flopping onto the grass. Mae, in a much better mood than she'd been in for a while, threw herself down next to him. "I needed that." she admitted softly, not looking at him.

"I know," he said. "I figured the first attempt to cheer you up ended badly, so I should give it another shot. Did this make up for it?"

"Make up for a concussion, you mean?" she asked. "Yeah, it probably did. Merlin…" She paused, feeling the corners of her mouth tilt upwards. "I...I've been…"

He turned onto his side and rested his head in his hand. "You've been what? Forcing yourself to be miserable?"

She blushed. "It just feels wrong, being happy when he's gone. I know that he wouldn't want me to be upset like this for so long, but…"

"You're right. He wouldn't want that. So cut it out, yeah?"

"Easier said than done," Mae muttered. "I don't know how I'm supposed to get over this. He was like family. It's...Imagine if you lost George; that's what it would be like."

"That won't happen," he said confidently. "George and I are together until the end."

"That's what I thought too."

"I do know," he said slowly, "that if I lost George, he'd find a way to come back and haunt me if I did what you're doing."

Her face became redder. "I imagine that Cedric would want to haunt me too."

They fell into a silence that didn't last more than two minutes. Fred quickly got off the ground and pulled her with him. He used a spell to gather all of the sponges and turned them back into the golden balls. Together they cleaned up the quidditch pitch from Mae's practice and from their game. After that, they mounted brooms and flew. Mae couldn't help but feel free, even freer than normal. And it was at that moment that she realized she was turning a new page; a page without Cedric. She knew it wouldn't be particularly easy, but she was confident that she was going to have a certain Weasley there to help her through it.


	11. Chapter Eleven

After two more detentions, Mae decided to avoid getting in trouble for the rest of the year. She couldn't handle more detentions with Umbridge; the professor kept her until close to one in the morning. By the time she finished her homework after the detention, Mae was able to sleep for four hours at most, before she had to get up and go to class again. Monday was pure torture, though she'd at least managed to finish her essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts. She'd scraped something together for a Transfiguration essay and made a quick drawing of a semi-detailed unicorn for Care of Magical Creatures. She couldn't wait to go to bed that night, but she had to go to detention first, her last one, and stay awake until nearly three in the morning before her bed would greet her again.

Tuesday wasn't actually that great either; she was still exhausted and had to stay up late for quidditch practice that night. Her team was eager to practice again, or at least that's what she thought because they were asking her about quidditch things nonstop. Mae was excited to practice with them for the most part; she wanted to get her team in shape to really beat the other houses. She wanted to win for Cedric. Because she'd hadn't just decided to avoid getting in trouble after Monday's detention. She's realized that she was acting like herself again. It felt like she was betraying her best friend, so the idea of honoring him became even more important.

Her team practiced well that night, and they continued to do so for the next two weeks. Mae was incredibly pleased to see that Rose was finding extra time to practice on her own, and her beaters were spending time together to discuss strategies. They weren't all friends, as no one really liked Zacharias, but they were all working hard to be a good team, and Mae thought that was the most important part. She spent a good amount of time practicing now that she didn't have detention every night. She tested products for Fred and George as well, which resulted in a lot of uncomfortable situations when she got sick or covered in boils. They managed to get her fixed up every time, but she regretted her agreement to help out every time she lost her lunch.

During the two weeks, she grew closer to the Gryffindors, which was another reason why she felt like she was betraying Cedric. Mae, who was bound and determined to go to every meal, sat with Angelina, Alicia, and Katie. Sometimes they were joined by the twins and Lee Jordan, but it was frequently just them. She was more willing to crack grins, which made her friends smile too. They flew for fun and worked on homework in the library, and Mae ended the days by going to bed a bit earlier than she used to so she could get enough sleep. Life was different, but it was good.

It became worse, however, when Fred came up to her on the Friday morning before their first Hogsmeade visit. "Hey," he said, taking the seat next to her. "Any plans tomorrow?"

"I was planning on going to Honeydukes to get Chocolate Frogs for my parents," she said, watching as Angelina smirked from across the table. "Why?"

"How would you like to do something fun? Chocolate frogs included."

"I'm intrigued," she said, ignoring the growing expression on Angelina's face. "What are you thinking?"

"Tour of the town," he said. "Lunch at Three Broomsticks, visit Zonkos and Honeydukes, a quick pop into The Hogs Head…"

"Who's going?"

"George and me, of course, and Lee."

"What, we're not invited?" Alicia asked. She was smirking too.

"This is a mission for us, my dears," Fred said. "We want to test some things and it's not something you'd like. Unless-"

"-you like vomiting your guts out," Mae muttered. She hoped she wasn't going to have to swallow a puking pastille on her Hogsmeade weekend. "I'm in, but I don't recommend it."

Alicia wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "I'm out. We'll just go get butterbeer, thank you very much."

"I don't blame you," Mae said. "Fred, I'll meet you by the doors. Is ten okay, or should I come earlier?"

"Ten is perfect," he said. "See you then."

Mae waved as he hopped up and left. She went back to eating her bacon and expected her friends to do the same. But when she looked up, they were smiling at her. "Blood hell-stop smirking at me! What the hell are you on about?"

"Mae," Katie said, a large smile on her face. "You've been spending a lot of time with Fred lately."

"So?" she asked defensively. "What does it matter?"

"No reason," Angelina said, but she had the same expression on her face as Alicia and Katie. Mae wanted to yell at them because she knew exactly what they were thinking about. "Don't distract my beater too much, please?"

"Really, I should be concerned that your beater is distracting me."

"I can tell him to stop, if you want," Angelina said. "I have absolutely no control over him though, so that won't really do you any good."

Mae rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You're all ridiculous. I remember now why I tried not to become friends with a bunch of girls." They laughed, and Mae grinned. They weren't right, not even close, but their laughter made her feel happy. It reminded her of laughing and being happy with Cedric.

She went to class after that and sat next to Angelina. They were in Charms, and Angelina kept passing her notes about quidditch. She seemed to think that Mae was going to play quidditch professionally, which Mae thought was completely ridiculous, but she kept asking which team she'd want to play for and how many years she'd want to play. Mae gave her answers, but she didn't really think much of them. Angelina stuffed the parchment into her bag when Professor Flitwick gave them a nasty look, and Mae put her head down to get back to work.

Angelina, Alicia, and Katie proceeded to tease her about spending time with Fred for the rest of the day. Katie tried to convince her to ask Fred on a date, and Mae insisted she didn't feel that way about him. Katie countered by saying that she was blushing, and Mae told her to shut up. By the end of the day, Mae found herself hiding out near the kitchens to get away from everyone. Hardly anyone came down to the kitchens, meaning they were usually a good place to hide around.

So when someone stepped in front of her and cleared their throat, Mae gasped in shock. Her head had been buried in her Transfiguration textbook, and she'd hadn't even heard them walk up to her. "For Merlin's sake, Harry," she said, hugging her book against her chest. "How'd you find me?"

"I have a map," he said, shrugging and not really answering her question. He looked exhausted, and Mae wondered if he was stuck in detention a lot and not really in the mood to have a real discussion. "I-"

"Are you alright?" she asked, cutting him off. "You look awful."

"Thanks," he muttered. "I haven't been sleeping well."

"Has Umbridge stuck you in detention again?" she asked. "Let me see your hand." He held it out to her, and Mae sighed heavily. His skin looked red and irritated, and the words carved into it shone clearly in the dim light. "Have you been treating it with something?" she asked. "If you're not careful, it could get infected."

"Hermione makes sure I do," he said softly. "But that's...not why I can't sleep."

Her heart skipped a beat. "What's wrong?"

"I keep...dreaming about it, about what happened. I see him, when it...when he...and I see him before, and I...I keep dreaming that he blames me."

His voice sounded weak, and even though Mae didn't really want to talk about Cedric, she felt terrible for him. "Hey," she said softly. "Cedric would never blame you. He liked you, Harry, he always did. He knows-he would know that what happened wasn't your fault."

"But if I hadn't made him take the cup with me-"

"Stop. You need to stop. Did you know it was a portkey?"

"No, I didn't."

"Did you want him to die?"

"Of course not," he sat hotly. "I never wanted that."

"Then it's not your fault. You...You have to forgive yourself for not seeing it coming. It's not your fault; you had nothing to do with this. You're just as much of a victim as Cedric."

"You think I'm a victim?"

"Look at everything that's happened to you; everything that's been done to you. You're a victim. You're just not laying down and taking it." He looked especially vulnerable then, and Mae, against her better judgement, hugged him tightly. "You're not alone, Harry. Don't force yourself to be."

She hoped that he would listen to her, and that he wouldn't isolate himself. After all he'd been through, he didn't deserve to be alone. "Mae?" he asked once they'd separated. "I..Ron and Hermione had this idea…"

"Oh? What is it?"

"They want me to teach some people defensive magic, and-"

"That's an amazing idea," she said. "Merlin, you'd be a thousand times better than Umbridge."

"You think it's a good idea?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"That's what I said, isn't it? How do I go about getting some lessons for myself?"

"We're planning on meeting at the Hogs Head-"

"So that's why Fred wants to go there tomorrow. I thought it was weird but it makes sense now. I'll see you there tomorrow then."

She can't read his expression well, but she thinks he feels a bit better because he'd started to hold himself differently. He nodded to her and waved, and Mae waved back before going back to her homework. She liked Harry Potter, and though she was surprised that he'd come to her of all people, it pleased her too. If she could help him, and she thought she had, then she didn't mind being disturbed at all.

The next morning, Mae woke up at half past eight. She hurried to throw on clothes and get to breakfast. She found a seat at the Hufflepuff table and plopped down, digging into some sausage and cereal. She finished eating without being disturbed, and then went back to her dormitory. She had some time to spare so she decided to work on some homework. She wasn't particularly sad when she realized that it was time to head out to the entrance hall.

Three Gryffindor boys were waiting for her by the main doors. They all greeted her with wide smiles, and Lee Jordan shook her hand enthusiastically. "Mae Willis-second best keeper at Hogwarts in thirty years. How are you doing?"

She couldn't help but smile. "Good, very good-but second best, really?"

"Pretty sure Wood could hear if we said otherwise, and he'd come here and smack us upside the head." one of the twins said. Mae thought it was George, but she wasn't really confident in her decision.

"Fair enough," she said. "Wood is amazing." They laughed, and Mae nodded toward the door. "Shall we? I know I'm getting chocolate for my parents, but I'm ready to eat some too."

Fred smirked; Mae wondered if he could make any other facial expression. They left to go to the village then. As much as Mae enjoyed spending time with Fred, Mae was starting to feel a bit like an outsider. Fred, George, and Lee all knew each other so well and they had so many jokes and stories to share. Mae didn't want to interrupt, and instead just walked quietly beside them. Every now and then, Fred pulled her into conversation, but it never seemed to last long.

They went to Honeydukes first. Mae bought a large amount of chocolate frogs that she planned on sending to her parents, and picked up one for herself as well. Little did she know that Fred had a stack of his own that he was planning on giving her, as a thanks for everything she'd done for their joke store products. Mae wasn't really focused on him; she was just hopeful that her day would pick up from here.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Things picked up when they went to The Three Broomsticks for lunch. Once they sat down, Lee Jordan turned to her and started asking questions about quidditch. Mae was confused at first, because Fred and George played quidditch too and Lee wasn't interested in asking them any questions, but she decided it must just be because she was new in their group. Lee, like Angelina, asked what team she'd play for if she went professional, and Mae rolled her eyes at him.

"You're the second person to ask me that," she said, frowning. "I'm not sure why. I'm not going to be a professional quidditch player-I'm not that good at quidditch anyway."

"Not that good?" Fred asks, sounded appalled. "Not that good? You're one of the best players left at Hogwarts. You're better than Angelina, and I don't say that lightly. She's my captain and she'd murder me if she heard me say it."

Mae turned red. "Better than Angelina? Have you gone mental? She's amazing at quidditch."

"And you're better," Lee said. He looked earnest and Mae couldn't decide why. "Half of Hogwarts expects you to play professionally-don't you know that?'

Mae stared at the boys around her in shock. Half of Hogwarts thought she was going to play professional quidditch? It didn't make any sense. Half of Hogwarts didn't even know she existed. "You're all mad," she said, shaking her head. "Completely mad. I'm not sure why you'd think that, but it's insane."

"Mae," George said, "Would we lie to you?"

"You frequently make me throw up-how can I trust you?"

"She's got a fair point," Fred muttered. "Honestly, Mae, we're not crazy. Hogwarts loves you, and they all expect you to be a big star."

"For Merlin's sake, you guys need to stop this joke. It's not even that funny, you know that right?"

"It's not a joke," Lee said. "I'll be commenting on your playing in the future, I suspect."

"You want to be a quidditch commentator?" Mae asked, trying to get the focus off herself and onto Lee Jordan.

He nodded and smirked. "I'll have to tone it down. But you could give me a good word to get the job, if I try and commentate for your team."

Mae rolled her eyes, quickly falling silent. The Weasley twins and Lee Jordan continued to discuss where they thought she'd end up playing quidditch and Mae tried hard to ignore them. She sipped on butterbeer and munched on a sandwich, and waited until the topic switched to something else. Soon enough, they found themselves talking about the joke products that Fred and George were creating. Mae, who tested out products for them, felt like she had a thousand things to say about them.

"Are the Puking Pastilles almost finished? I'm ready to stop losing my lunch. And please don't tell me I have to test one today."

"Nah, not today," Fred said. "We've got too much to do today."

"Thank Merlin. When's the next trial then?"

"Any chance you'd want to do another test after your quidditch practice tomorrow?" George asked.

"Before or after lunch?"

"Before. We won't make you lose it again."

"How kind," Mae smirked. "Yeah, I'm fine to test it after quidditch. I heard you had other products though; maybe I could try those sometime?"

"Nosebleed Nougat nearly killed Katie," Fred muttered. "I'm not so sure I want you to nearly die too."

"That's sweet," Mae said, "but I'll take my chances. Bring it on; I'm ready to bleed a little."

The boys laughed, and Mae smirked at them. She was happy to make them laugh, and she was happy to laugh with the. Cedric, she thought, would be proud of her. He'd be proud that she'd stopped wallowing in misery, even if it felt like betrayal to her. She thought that he would have liked the boys, Fred especially, because he'd helped take care of her after a detention with Umbridge. Mostly though, he would have liked Fred because Fred made her laugh, and Cedric had always done the same.

"Excuse me." Mae whispered, ignoring the confused looks on the faces around her. Her eyes were watering. She slid out of her chair and hurried to the bathroom, a burning sensation behind her eyes as she tried to hold back tears. Thinking of Cedric and how happy he would be only reminded her of how happy he should be. He should be happy, working in the ministry, dating Cho Chang, and basking in the glory of winning the Triwizard Tournament. Instead, his body was in a casket, deep underground, and rotting away. All she wanted to do was cry.

So she did. Tears began to fall down her cheeks and she quickly shut herself in a stall, sat down on the lid of the toilet, and put her head in her hands. She knew she'd have to go back to the twins and Lee before too long, but she needed a moment. Her heart ached and her throat felt tight, and she didn't think she could handle being around anyone. Which is why she just needed to sit in the bathroom and be alone.

Before she'd managed to stop her tears though, she heard a familiar voice say her name. She didn't know how, but Katie was in the bathroom too. "Mae? I saw you come in here. Is everything okay? The boys look concerned."

Mae wiped her eyes and willed her voice to sound natural. "I'm fine, Katie. Just had to run to the restroom."

Her voice was shaking and she hated herself for it. "I've locked the door. You can come out, Mae. Just...Come talk, okay?"

She sighed heavily and stood up, wiping her eyes again and hoping that her friend would just ignore the fact that she was in tears. "Okay," she said, coming out of the stall. "What's up?"

Katie sighed too, and Mae wondered if she would make a big deal about the fact that she was crying in the bathroom stall at The Three Broomsticks. "Mae, what's going on? You've...Acted so much like yourself in the last week that I thought you were okay. Are you not? Is something wrong?"

"I was just...thinking about Cedric," she admitted, seeing no point in lying to her friend. "I was thinking about Cedric and about how happy he'd be if he knew I was alright, and then about how he should be alright, and I just...I'm sorry. I'm fine, Katie, really. I just needed a minute."

"You know it's okay to be upset," her friend said softly. "Everyone is upset about Cedric, and none of us were as close to him as you."

Mae nodded slightly, looking down at her shoes. "I'm just...Having a tough time," she mumbled. She couldn't believe that she was admitting anything about not being okay, especially to someone who would check up on her for it. She didn't like people prying into her life, especially if she couldn't completely come to terms with it herself. And she hadn't really come to terms with Cedric's death, that much was obvious. "Katie? I'm...I'm going to splash some water on myself and then head back out to the twins and Lee. Please don't tell them that I was crying? I...Don't really need to hear about it form them."

"I won't tell anyone," she promised, "but I'd be shocked if Fred doesn't know. He was...To be honest, he was standing outside the door when I walked in."

"He was what?" Mae asked, shocked.

"He probably just wants to make sure that you're okay. But he was standing out there waiting for you and Lee and George were sitting at a table."

"Why would he follow me to the bathroom?" Mae asked, clueless.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because he-"

She was cut off by the sound of heavy pounding on the door and an annoyed sounding woman yelling at them to open up. Mae cracked a grin and Katie did too, and after splashing water on her face, Mae followed her friend out of the bathroom. Sure enough, Fred was standing outside the door. He looked casual, leaning against the wall and twirling his wand between his fingers, and Mae stared at him. "Why are you here?" she asked, unable to think about anything else.

"Had to make sure the test subject was okay," he teased, knocking his shoulder into hers. "You are okay, right?"

"Of course I am," she said. "Shall we head back to the table?"

He nodded, and Mae waved at Katie before following Fred back to the others. They finished eating and drinking their butterbeer, and Mae was confident that they'd all noticed the redness around her eyes, but they hadn't said anything about it and she was grateful for that. When they finished, they wandered around Hogsmeade, ducking into various stores and buying things that they wanted. Fred and George spent at least an hour in Zonko's, and Mae was tempted to just leave them and move on, but she managed to find something to do.

When the hour was up, they left the joke store and started the trek to The Hogs Head. Mae had never been there before, and she wasn't sure exactly what to expect. Whatever she'd been thinking, it wasn't what met her eyes when she walked inside. The pub was dingy and not very full except for the group of Hogwarts students who were gathering around Harry and his friends. Fred and George went to the counter to get butterbeer for everyone, promptly asking the group to cough up money to pay them back. Mae went to the back of the crowd and looked toward the front, where Harry was fiercely whispering in Hermione Granger's ear. She motioned with her hands to the group and he sighed heavily. When he looked around, Mae waved and he sent her a sliver of a smile before Hermione called the group together.

Mae listened intently as she talked and as Harry took over for her. She didn't want to appear uninterested, as that definitely wasn't the case, and she could tell that the three in the front of their large group weren't exactly thrilled with how many people were asking needless questions of Harry. The questions were mostly about his skill and accomplishments, which they all knew from years of hearing about all he'd been through. Mae wasn't really intrigued by the conversation; it mostly just made her think about Cedric and that had already brought her to tears that day.

The topic of Cedric was inevitable though. It was, apparently, all anyone wanted to hear about. She sent angry glares at Zachariah, who was asking most of the questions, and noticed that Harry was doing the same. But for a while he didn't seem to get the memo, and Mae ended up clutching her butterbeer so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Mae was pretty sure she was going to break her glass when she felt a warm hand cover her own and gently ease the bottle of butterbeer out of her grasp. She looked over to see a twin's hand covering hers. The other had his hand on her shoulder, and after noticing that, she noticed that Katie had taken a hand as well.

"Kick him off the team?" Katie suggested softly, and Mae managed to crack a grin.

"Maybe," she muttered, "Or I tell him training starts at five tomorrow so that he'll have to wake up at four."

"Pure torture," one of the twins said softly. "I love it."

Mae smiled, her hand relaxing around her glass. The Weasley twins both let her go, and Katie did as well. She looked back to the front and truly listened again, they had moved onto the subject of patronuses. Mae tuned in, intrigued to hear about the magic, and glad that they'd finally changed topics. She made it through the rest of the meeting without clenching her fist, and by the time they were reaching for the parchment to write their names down on the list, Mae could tell that Harry was becoming more comfortable and confident with the idea of teaching them all defensive magic. And Mae, for one, was ready to learn.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Mae couldn't help but smile at her team as she stood before them on Sunday morning. No one wanted to use the pitch before noon that day, which meant that Mae could always get it reserved. Her team wasn't necessarily as happy as she was, but they woke up before long and the eagerness returned to everyone except Zachariah. True to her word, Mae had pulled him aside to let him know that practice was supposed to start at five that morning. He'd apparently walked all the way to the quidditch pitch and waited for half an hour before storming back to the castle. He'd screamed in the common room until someone had woken her up and let her know that Zachariah wanted to see her.

The argument that had taken place wasn't pleasant, but her chaser had begrudgingly agreed to apologize to Harry Potter before going to his own dormitory and going back to bed. He was back now though, and glaring at her as they stood and discussed their tactics for the day. They were practicing new plays that were going to take time to learn, and Mae didn't want to waste their time with questions every five minutes during practice. Taking a moment to address concerns first was going to make all of their lives a lot easier.

Before long they were up in the air, Mae shouting instructions every now and then as her team worked. The more she saw them, the more confident she felt that they were going to perform better than usual during the upcoming season. She was proud of her team. They were doing far better than she'd expected them to, especially with the difficulty of the maneuver. They went through their practice, Mae still shouting orders and eventually congratulating them on how well they were doing. After establishing their next practice, Mae told them all to head to the locker room and enjoy the rest of their day.

She spent about twenty minutes just flying, because they'd gotten done earlier than she'd planned on, and she didn't have to meet Fred for another twenty-five minutes. She figured it wouldn't take too long to head back up to the castle, and none of the boys would care if she showed up a little sweaty from running up the hill. Flying felt even more free if she wasn't doing it for quidditch, and the freedom was something she really didn't want to lose, especially not when she'd spent so much time stuck in grief over Cedric.

But her twenty minutes very quickly turned to thirty, and it was only when Mae glanced at her watch that she realized just how late she was. "Shit," she muttered, turning to the ground and descending as quickly as possible. "Shit, shit, shit…"

She tumbled off her broom a ways off the ground. Her ankle popped and throbbed angrily as she landed on it, and Mae swore again. With a wave of her wand she sent her broom to the broom shed, and started up the hill. Halfway through she had to stop and sit down for a moment. Her ankle was throbbing more and more now, and she couldn't get it to stop no matter how she put weight on it. She was about to give up walking when a figure came out of the castle. Mae waved and called them over, and the figure turned to walk toward her. As they approached, Mae realized the mistake she'd made.

She wanted to swear again, but as Umbridge approached her, Mae held her tongue. "Are you in distress, Dear?" she asked. Mae shook her head. "So why are you waving me over then?" She smiled sweetly, but Mae was certain there was malice in her eyes.

"I think I fell on my ankle wrong," she admitted, begrudgingly accepting the fact that Umbridge was the only person around to help her. "I...I need help getting to Madam Pomfrey."

"Tut tut," Umbridge said, clicking her tongue. "No, I don't think that will do at all. You see, Miss Willis, we must learn from our mistakes. You'll have to make it up to the castle on your own."

"I-Sorry, what?" Mae asked, her eyes widening. She could barely stand, and she was sure she'd sprained her ankle. "P-Please, I just want to get up to Madam Pomfrey."

"Yes, I'm sure you do. So stand up and walk to the castle."

"Please, Professor, I can't."

"Get up, Miss Willis."

"Professor-"

"Get up!"

Mae stood, tears in her eyes. She stumbled the moment she put pressure on her ankle and fell down again, breathing heavily. Professor Umbridge chuckled and said, "Having trouble, Dear?"

"I think I sprained my ankle. I'm...I'm sorry, I just want-"

"Stand up, Miss Willis. Stand up and walk to the hospital wing if you need to go there so desperately."

Mae nodded and took a deep, steadying breath in order to try and calm herself down. She didn't want to cry in front of Umbridge, especially when it didn't seem like she had any other help coming. She got herself standing up again, and took a careful step toward the castle. She bit her lip to try and stop herself from crying out, and took another step. It was slow progress, back to the castle. Umbridge followed her, and Mae forced herself to walk as slowly as possible to avoid hurting herself more. They finally reached the castle, and it was there that Umbridge stopped her.

"Nicely done, Miss Willis," she said softly. "Now go to your dormitory at once."

"What? But I-"

"Madam Pomfrey will be able to look after you in the morning. Go to your dormitory, and you will not bother her until tomorrow."

"Professor, I...I need her help."

"No. You're not allowed to leave your dormitory until tomorrow morning. Go, Miss Willis. If I see you around the castle, you'll be in detention for a month. Am I clear?"

Mae nodded and, without protest, turned to walk to her common room. Umbridge followed her the whole way, and it was only when Mae stepped inside the common room that she was finally away from the dreaded professor. She took a deep breath, ignoring the stares of a few first years by the fire. There was hardly anyone in the common room, as it was a Sunday and most were out with their friends. It was still early enough in the day that they wouldn't rush to do homework for another few hours. Mae leaned carefully against different pieces of furniture in order to support herself. The stairs were a challenge, but Mae, once out of view of the first years, sat down on the steps and pushed herself up until she got to the top. Once there she stood again, clenching her jaw to stop herself from crying out, and made her way to her bedroom. She was lucky enough that no one was there either, and Mae fell onto her bed, completely miserable. Fire, she was sure, was surrounding her entire foot now, and spreading up her entire leg.

She laid down and closed her eyes, trying to ignore the pain and the rumbling in her stomach. It was only then that she remembered she was supposed to meet Fred and George. With a heavy sigh, she accepted the fact that they'd just be furious with her for not showing up. She'd deal with it in the morning, when her ankle had calmed down and stopped throbbing.

After the acknowledgement of her current situation, Mae fell into an uneasy sleep. She was tired from being up early and practicing quidditch, so a nap didn't feel like too bad of a thing to do. Besides, resting made the fire ease up, and Mae was confident that all she needed to do was rest for it to get better. She dreamed of Umbridge cackling and Fred yelling at her for being unreliable, and woke nearly four hours later to dull throbbing in both her foot and head. Mae groaned and sat up, rubbing her eyes as she looked tiredly around the room. She had to go to the bathroom, which was on the other side of her room, and she could hear the others in her dormitory talking and laughing through the closed curtains of her four poster bed. Mae wondered if she could cast a successful confundus charm to make them all focus on something else in order for her to hobble across the room, but she quickly realized that wouldn't work. They'd remember and try to take her to Madam Pomfrey, and then she'd get in trouble and have detention for a month. It wasn't exactly something Mae wanted to deal with.

So she sat quietly in her bed, her legs crossed, as she prayed that the others would leave and go do something else. It took over thirty minutes before they decided to head down to the common room to work by the fire, and as soon as they were gone, Mae hurried out of bed. That was a mistake, however. She promptly fell and cried out in pain, reaching down to grab her ankle. She bit her tongue to keep herself from crying out again, and looked at her foot for the first time since injuring it. Everything had swelled and turned a nasty shade of purple, and Mae stared at it in horror. Her eyes watered and she took a few deep, calming breaths before turning and getting onto her knees to crawl to the bathroom. She made it after what felt like forever, and got herself to the toilet without having some kind of accident.

Mae sat on the floor by the toilet for the next three hours. She didn't want to move and risk hurting her ankle before she needed to. Everyone in her dormitory was off doing things and then probably eating dinner, while Mae just sat in the bathroom and tried not to move. She used a spell to turn some water into ice and put it on her her ankle, hoping that the swelling might go down so she could walk on it by morning. She needed to be back to normal both to practice quidditch successfully and to walk around the castle. She'd have to find some way to apologize to Fred and George for not showing up.

Mae didn't move when the other girls in her year came back. A few came into the bathroom and asked if she was alright, and Mae responded by telling them she thought she'd eaten something bad for lunch. They backed out of the room quickly after that. She waited a while longer before trying to stand again and managed to get out of the bathroom and back to her bed. She laid down, throbbing in her head and her leg, and she closed her eyes to try and sleep again.

She managed to fall asleep around two in the morning, and woke around five to more pain. She wondered if she'd get in trouble for being out of bed at the hour, but decided after attempting to get out of bed that skipping her classes was a better bet. She didn't think she could handle walking to the hospital wing, at least not yet, and even though she'd probably get in trouble for missing Umbridge's class, one detention was worth it if it meant she didn't have to wander around.

Mae spent half of the day in bed, her stomach grumbling and her bladder protesting. She knew that she'd have to get up eventually and that she definitely needed to go to the hospital wing. But she'd have to work up the courage to walk before she did that. However, she soon realized that it wasn't courage she would need. Because just after lunch, when Mae's throbbing head had reached nearly unbearable levels of pain, the door to the dormitory opened again. Mae stayed frozen and silent, her bottom half covered in a blanket and her curtains drawn. They were promptly tugged open, and Mae was met with sunlight and the blurry faces of two older women. She squinted, which made her head hurt more, but realized that Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout were standing at the foot of her bed.

"Well, Miss Willis, I must say I'm disappointed." Professor McGonagall said stiffly.

"Skipping classes, Mae?" Professor Sprout asked, sounding hurt. "What's going on, Dear? You've never done this before."

"Sorry," Mae mumbled, closing her eyes both to avoid the light and to avoid seeing their faces. "I'm sorry." Talking only made her head feel worse.

"Up you get, Miss Willis," Professor McGonagall said. "You need to attend the rest of your classes if you want to avoid a week's worth of detentions."

The backs of Mae's eyes began to burn as she thought about walking around the castle. "Please don't make me go," she mumbled, trying her best to avoid breaking down. "Please, Professor, I...I think I have a migraine and I can't handle light and-"

"We'll get you to Madam Pomfrey," Professor Sprout said. "Isn't that right, Minerva? Poppy can cure migraines with a snap of her fingers, almost. We'll get you feeling better in no time. Though I'm a little surprised you didn't just go to her yourself."

"I...Professor, I just…" Mae said, trying to argue. She opened her eyes again and saw concern slowly starting to take over their faces.

"Are you alright, Miss Willis?" Professor McGonagall asked, her features softening.

"I...Please just let me stay here. I'll be better tomorrow and I'll be back in class. I'll take detention-I'll do anything you want me to do, but just...please let me just stay here."

"Miss Willis, you've got a whole crowd of Gryffindors waiting for you in my office. There are...other matters you need to attend to. We'll get you to the hospital wing and get you fixed up, and then maybe you can tell me why you feel the need to stay in bed."

Mae nodded, well aware that there was no more arguing she could do. She carefully swung her legs off the bed and, bracing herself for pain, stood up. It was more than she could handle. Her whole leg seemed to light on fire as she stood, and warmth flooded her face. The world and the concerned faces of her professors went grey, and then she was falling to the ground, the grey fading quickly to black.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Mae woke up after a moment to see Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout standing over her. She panicked, forgetting exactly what happened to make her end up with them and on the floor, but it slowly started to come back to her. She could tell, almost immediately, that someone had conjured something to transport her to the hospital wing on. She tried to sit up but Professor Sprout pushed her back to the ground.

"Don't," Professor Sprout said gently. "You were only out for a moment, but we're going to take you to the hospital wing. You've broken your ankle, Mae. How you managed to get back to your dormitory on it is beyond me. Why you didn't go straight to Madam Pomfrey is beyond me as well. You're smarter than this."

Her eyes began to water. "I...I wasn't allowed to," she whispered, covering her eyes with her hands so her professors wouldn't see her crying. "I couldn't, I'm-"

"Couldn't?" Professor McGonagall asked. "Why couldn't you go to the hospital wing?"

Mae stayed silent for a moment. Professor Umbridge would be furious if she told the truth, and Mae didn't need to upset her even more than she already had. But the imploring looks of her professors made her speak up. "I...I must have landed wrong getting off my broom yesterday. I...I made it halfway up the hill and...and then I couldn't walk anymore, and I...I saw someone so I called for help and it was Professor Umbridge, and she told me to finish walking and then come here and not leave. So I...I tried to get up this morning but I couldn't do it, and...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to skip your classes."

Both of the women above her stared at her in horror. "Professor Umbridge didn't allow you to go to the hospital wing?" Professor McGonagall asked softly.

Mae just apologized again, breaking down more. Her professors allowed her to sit up again and Professor Sprout hugged her tightly. "We're going to get this taken care of."

"We're going to Professor Dumbledore," McGonagall said angrily. "We'll take pictures of your ankle and send them to the prophet if I have any say in it."

"I-" Mae tried to say, but McGonagall shook her head.

"Let's get you to the hospital wing. I'll have Miss Johnson run and fetch Professor Dumbledore."

"Come on," Professor Sprout said. "Up you get, Miss Willis. I've got you."

They ignored McGonagall's stretcher and instead, Professor Sprout wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her out of the Hufflepuff dormitory and common room and through the halls to the hospital wing. To Mae's surprise, Professor Dumbledore came sweeping into the room a few minutes after she'd arrived. With him came Angelina Johnson, who looked angry and worried at the same time. She didn't say anything though, and instead stood near the curtains and stared in horror at Mae's ankle.

"Good afternoon, Miss Willis," Professor Dumbledore said softly. "How unpleasant the circumstances are for this meeting."

Mae nodded and blushed. She'd never really had a conversation with the old man before, and she felt too nervous to talk. "Albus," Professor McGonagall said, feeling none of the nerves that Mae did. "Look at this. Look at what Umbridge has caused now. This has gone far enough. She needs to leave."

"Well said, Minerva," Professor Dumbledore said. "As much as I agree with you, however, I doubt the minister will remove her from the position."

"Then we'll send pictures and the story to the Daily Prophet, and-"

"And have the Ministry refuse to publish? My dear professor, there's nothing for us to do other than heal Miss Willis and allow her to end her lessons with Professor Umbridge."

"Stop taking defense?" Mae asked, finally speaking up. "I can't do that, Professor. I need to know the spells with the world we're living in. I...I can't quit."

She was met with silence. "It doesn't seem safe for you to continue," Professor Sprout said from next to her. "Mae, your safety is important."

"To hell with being safe now!" Mae exclaimed. "What does it matter if I'm safe for another year if I'm not going to be safe for the rest of my life? Umbridge hardly teaches us anything, but I need the class, I need the N.E.W.T."

She took a deep breath, her face pink. The professors watched her curiously, and Mae looked down at her legs. "Can...Can we please just heal my ankle and put an end to this migraine so I can go to class again? I just want to go to class."

"You won't be going to class today," Madam Pomfrey said furiously, finally pushing through the professors. "Had you been allowed to come straight to me, I would have fixed you up right away. As it is, I'm going to have to spend half a day both fixing the broken bone and then ensuring it actually heals properly. You won't be allowed to move until dinner."

Mae sighed heavily. She wasn't sure she could handle another day of just sitting around, and it seemed she would have another five to six hours of it. More than that, she didn't want to sit by herself. "Very well," Professor Dumbledore said. "We'll have someone come and sit with Miss Willis until dinner. And I'll inform Professor Umbridge that she's not to be alone with students outside of detentions."

Professor McGonagall looked furious still, and turned on her heel to leave the hospital wing. Professor Sprout patted her hand and left, going down to the greenhouses to teach her next class. Professor Dumbledore left as well, presumably to speak with Professor Umbridge. Angelina approached slowly then, looking concerned.

"Did you see the notice this morning?"

"No," Mae said harshly, frustrated that she was forced to stay in the hospital wing. "What's happened now?"

"Umbridge put a ban on all groups over three people," she said. "Quidditch included."

Mae had a potion pushed down her throat by Madam Pomfrey, and as soon as she swallowed she slumped to rest against her pillow. "That's just what I needed today."

"We have to petition to get the team back. I...I imagine Professor Dumbledore will get involved in your case, but...but for now, quidditch is cancelled."

Mae closed her eyes, the migraine subsiding with Madam Pomfrey's draught. "Can we just stick her in the forest until the year's over? Pretend that she never came here in the first place?"

"If only," Angelina said, pulling up a chair to sit next to her. "I imagine Fred will be the one to stay with you throughout the afternoon, but I don't want to leave you until he gets here."

"Fred's not going to-"

"Oh please," Angelina said. "Who do you think rallied all of us to go demand for McGonagall to find and check on you?"

"What do you mean, 'all of us'?" Mae asked.

"The twins, Lee, Alicia and Katie and I, Harry Potter-"

"What on earth-"

"If we'd given him another five minutes, I'm sure he would have convinced half of Gryffindor house to come to your rescue."

"Merlin," Mae said, shaking her head. "For Merlin's sake, why on earth would he go and do a thing like that?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because he's completely taken with you?"

"He's not taken with me," Mae argued. "Don't try and say that he's-"

"Please," Angelina said, rolling her eyes. "You're half of what he talks about, at least to me. That and quidditch-and every now and then something about his joke products. It's...Almost creepy, honestly."

Mae was prepared to protest, but the door to the hospital wing opened and the Gryffindors flowed in. Flowed, perhaps, wasn't the best word for it. Most of them did, looking relieved, but at the front of the pack was Fred Weasley, angry determination on his face. "Umbridge made this happen?" he asked fiercely. Mae wasn't sure she'd ever seen him so angry before. "I'm going to get her."

"Get her?" Mae asked softly. "How on earth-"

"I'll set fireworks off in her office, or...or I'll slip some ton-tongue toffee into a gift."

Mae had to breathe a sigh of relief. She'd been worried, for a moment, that he was going to do something serious to injure her. But now it seemed like all he wanted to do was cause a bit of dismay in order to upset Umbridge. "Fred, don't. You don't need to get revenge. Let's just...Forget about it. I'll be fine by dinner. Absolutely fine by dinner."

"Mae—"

"Do you really want to serve a detention with her when she figures out that it was you?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow. Fred frowned and stayed silent, and Mae nodded. "Yeah, I thought not. Just…calm down. I'm fine. Pomfrey's going to fix my ankle and then I'll be good as new."

Fred nodded unhappily. "Alright. But if she does something like this again—"

"Then put ton tongue toffee in a gift for her. I won't even be mad at you for it."

There was a pause before Fred nodded and smiled. It transformed slowly into his usual smirk, and Mae smiled happily. Everything was going to be fine, and even though her ankle was twinging, it was going to be fine in a few hours.

She would have said more, thanked the group for caring about her, but Professor McGonagall came back into the room. "You all need to get back to class. One of you can stay, and I'll let your professors know you won't be attending the rest of your classes."

There was no protest; Fred settled himself in the chair next to her and folded his arms, as if he was challenging anyone to take his place. Mae rolled her eyes but felt relieved that he was the one staying with her. Perhaps that meant she was too attached to her friend, but Mae didn't really think that was the case. She was fine without him, but he did make her feel calmer and happier. The rest of her friends said their goodbyes, and Mae waved at them before settling back against the pillows on the bed.

As soon as she did, Fred was talking. "So you weren't able to make it yesterday, obviously, but I wanted to tell you that we've finally done it. Puking Pastilles are now completely safe."

"The antidote side works right away?"

"It took effect as soon as George swallowed it. We celebrated with butterbeer, and we had one for you, so I made sure to bring them with me."

"Them?"

"Butterbeer for both, and chocolate frogs for you as well. I may have picked up a few extras when we were in Hogsmeade on Saturday."

Mae grinned as he reached into his book bag and pulled out two bottles and three packages of chocolate frogs.

They clinked their bottles together, and Mae nodded to Fred. "Congratulations," she said with a wide smile. "You're one step closer to truly getting your joke shop."

"What if it wasn't just mine and George's?" he asked slowly. Mae, whose eyes had been closed to get her first taste of butterbeer for the day, nodded.

"You're going to bring Lee in?" she guessed. "I'm sure he'd love that."

"I was thinking about bringing you in, actually."

Mae just about spit out her butterbeer. Her eyes opened, wide, and she looked at Fred in confusion. "Me? Why would you want to bring me in? I don't know anything about business or…or jokes, or—"

"Mae," Fred said firmly, making her shut her mouth. "First of all, you're probably going to be a huge quidditch star, so people will come in to your store more than they might come into mine. And secondly, if you have a stake in the business…maybe you'll stick around when you're famous."

"Fred, I'm not going to play professional quidditch," Mae said. "And even if I wanted to, I highly doubt you'd want me to stick around for that long. I'll be dreadfully annoying after a while."

"Please," Fred muttered, rolling his eyes. "You're not even slightly annoying."

"Says you."

"Yeah, says me," he argued. "You don't have to, it's just an offer."

"Of course I'd be honored," Mae said, not wanting to hurt his feelings. "But what does George say about this?"

"He thinks it's a brilliant idea."

"Really?"

"Definitely."

Mae bit her lip, trying to decide what she wanted to do, before a smile broke across her face and she nodded. "Alright," she said softly. "Alright, I'd love to be a part of the business."

"Really?" Fred asked, smiling. "You really want to be a part of it?"

"I do," Mae said. "I'm excited to learn about all of this and to hear about your big plans. I…I'm shocked you asked me, still, but I'm excited."

Fred smiled, and eagerly launched into descriptions about what he was working on. Mae just smiled as well and listened. Seeing Fred so excited made her happy, and she knew she'd work hard to get that feeling as almost a permanent thing.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Mae stood in front of her beaters, her hip jutted out to the side. They looked confused, unsure of why she'd called them onto the grounds at eight on a Thursday morning. She knew for a fact that they had an hour and a half before they had to be in class, and she'd told them to eat before coming down.

"Okay," Mae said, her fingers tightening around her broom. "We're not allowed to practice as a team. But that doesn't mean we can't practice in small groups. No bigger than three; that's the key to getting around Umbridge's rule."

"But what if-"

"I've got Professor Sprout and Professor McGonagall on my side. If Umbridge tries to shut it down, she'll be stopped by McGonagall and Sprout." Mae said confidently, though she felt a bit nervous about her scheme. If Umbridge found them, it probably wouldn't go over well. Umbridge had glared at her ever since Mae had gotten out of the hospital wing, and she knew that Umbridge was looking for a reason to give her detention.

Her beaters didn't look at all convinced, but they nodded anyway and grabbed their brooms and their bats to start practicing. "So what are we supposed to do?" Jane asked, her expression slowly turning from worried to determined.

"I want you to catch me," Mae said. "It's going to be easier because you have less people to fly through, but I need you to work together to try and hit me with the bludger, okay?"

"Have you gone mad?" Jane asked, her eyes wide. "You want us to hit you with the bludger? Mae, that's going to break bones and-"

"I'll have a bat," Mae replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm not insane, you know that. We need practice, not me in the hospital wing for the second time in a week. I need you two to try and hit me, and I'm just going to send them back at you. Sound good?"

"Sounds great," Jane said, looking unsure but prepared to hop on her broom and take off.

And they did just that. Mae's beaters spent an hour working their way around the pitch and she spent an hour nearly getting hit with bludgers. But her team members looked happy, and they'd gotten better. They'd really tried to improve, and Mae was pleased with their progress.

Mae let them go with enough time to make it to class on time, and put her own broom away to get ready herself. She jogged to her dormitory to quickly change into regular robes and throw her hair up. She made her way to the transfiguration classroom, hearing the rain that had haunted them yesterday start back up in full swing. "Bloody good timing." Mae muttered, wondering if she'd get to bring one of her chasers out like she'd intended after classes were over.

She was about to enter the room when she felt someone tap her shoulder. Mae turned, expecting it to be Angelina or Fred, but saw Professor Sprout standing behind her instead. "Good morning, Ms. Willis," Professor Sprout said. "I have some news for you."

"News?" Mae asked, wondering what would get her head of house so excited. "What news?"

"I followed Minerva's advice about reforming the quidditch team and appealed to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Umbridge had no choice but to agree-you're free to continue practicing again!"

Mae couldn't resist; she quickly hugged her professor, af wide grin on her face. "That's the best news I've heard all week. Thank you, Professor Sprout. Honestly, I don't know…"

"Just win for me this year," Professor Sprout said, smiling. "Win for Hufflepuff, and I'll consider us even."

Mae nodded eagerly, her face pur happiness. Professor Sprout patted her shoulder before leaving. Mae walked into the Transfiguration room, smiling, and thrilled. She sat at a desk near the front of the room, opening her textbook and trying to convince herself that her week would continue to get better. She'd already gotten into business with Fred and George, and now her quidditch team was going to be able to practice as normal again. It was a dream week, and Mae was afraid that something would ruin it.

She felt someone sit down next to her, and turned to see Angelina. "We're back in business," Mae said, unable to help herself. "My quidditch team is back. Professor Sprout went the same route as McGonagall and got Dumbledore involved. I...I was so worried that we were going to be stuck in limbo and unable to play."

Angelina smiled. "I can't say I'm thrilled to have the competition, but I'm happy for you. As your friend I'm happy for you."

Mae laughed. She felt the same about Angelina's team, if she was honest, but she hid her fear better than Angelina did, at least in this case. "I'm glad to provide some competition for you. With the way our team's practiced the few times we've been able to, I think you need to look out."

Angelina rolled her eyes. "Oh please. We've got Harry Potter on our team; no seeker can beat him."

"Be that as it may," she said, straightening her shoulders. "We're working hard and we might just beat you."

"I support it," Fred said, his face popping up next to Mae's desk. "I'm in for an upset as long as it's you doing it."

"Fred Weasley," Angelina scolded, her captain voice in play. "Don't you dare-"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," he said, holding his hands up. He backed away to be closer to Mae, and whispered in her ear, "I'm not actually kidding. Good luck."

Chills went down her spine and Mae turned to look at him, though he was already sitting and joking with George and Lee. "Did he turn around and tell you to win?" Angelina asked, annoyed with her beater.

"He did," Mae said, knowing that she wasn't going to lie to Angelina. "I don't know why he'd want us to beat his own team."

"Oh I have a few ideas," Angelina said, wiggling her eyebrows. "Then again you-"

"Oh for Merlin's sake," Mae said, interrupting Angelina. "Fred Weasley does not fancy me like you seem to think he does!"

Her voice was no more than a whisper, but felt oddly loud in the classroom. She heard a low whistle and Angelina's eyes were wide. "Please don't tell me-"

"Oh yeah," Angelina said. "I don't think I've ever seen Fred look so...so red."

Mae put her head down on her desk, and Professor McGonagall said, "Head up, Ms. Willis. I do not permit sleeping in my class."

Mae lifted her head to see her professor standing before her, a rare smile on her face. It disappeared after a moment, because McGonagall was known for being stern and not smiling as much. Mae knew she'd have to deal with Fred later, but she definitely wasn't going to try and tackle the issue at the start of a transfiguration lesson. Truly, she was hopeful that Fred would end up ignoring the comment just as much as she wanted to.

He didn't catch her as she left the classroom. Mae left as quickly as she could because she knew it was going to be an awkward conversation. She managed to get through the day without running into Fred, though she suspected he was trying to avoid her just as she was trying to avoid him. When Alicia came up once classes were over to tell her that their defense group was meeting that night, Mae knew that her time without seeing Fred was over.

But she decidedly got there late so she could sit across the room from him. Angelina rolled her eyes, and Mae glared back at her. She sat on the floor near Zacharias, who didn't bother to look at her.

Mae didn't bother paying attention to what was happening until she heard Harry Potter's friend Hermione comment on electing a leader. Mae raised an eyebrow, assuming that Harry was the leader already, which was exactly what Cho Chang said the moment the words left Hermione's mouth.

"What if we didn't vote for him?" Zacharias asked, a cocky smile on his face.

"Don't be stupid," Mae muttered. "You do that and you're getting up at five in the morning every day for the next two weeks."

"You can't wake me up-"

"I can schedule quidditch practices," Mae threatened. "Don't test me."

"Quidditch is back?" he asked, surprised. "Since when is quidditch back?"

"Sprout told me today. Now raise your hand."

He did, and Mae smiled as she raised her own hand as well. They made a name after that, and Mae couldn't help but snort at the name Fred came up with. Her eyes met his for a moment, and he smiled, and Mae smiled too.

"Pair up!" she heard, and Mae immediately looked around the room. She didn't know who she would pair up with. Angelina and Alicia would go together, but she thought maybe Katie Bell would be her partner. Yet before she could even stand up, Katie had paired up with another girl in her year. Mae stood, brushing off her pants and biting her lip as she tried to figure out who else she could pair up with. Fred, she assumed, would go with George, but maybe she could convince Lee Jordan to be her partner, or-

"Merlin," she muttered, watching Lee pair up with George. She wondered if she could just practice on her own, because it didn't look like she was going to have a single person to partner up with. She considered just leaving, because it didn't look like she was going to be able to actually practice. But then someone tapped her shoulder, and Mae jumped and turned to see Fred behind her. "What on earth-"

"Be my partner?" he asked, grinning. His ears were red, and there was something uncertain in his eyes, but he somehow still retained the same cocky grin.

"Yeah, okay," Mae said, embarrassed that no one else had wanted to be her partner. "But I'm not going to be great at this spell."

"It's Harry's specialty," Fred said, pulling Mae over to a quieter area. "I'll have to get him over here so he can show you."

"We don't have to bother Harry. He's got a room full of people that he has to help. I know the spell, I just...Know that I'm not going to be excellent at it."

Her face was red again, and she was worried about how Fred would react when he saw her being terrible at magic. "Go ahead and give it a shot," Fred said, holding his arms open. "Hit me with it."

"Fred, I just…"

"If you don't get me, then I'll have to just go after you."

"Fred please, I just want to-"

He spoke so quickly that Mae didn't have the chance to react. Her wand flew out of her hand and toward him, and he caught it with a wide grin on his face. She stared at him for a moment, her mouth open, and her heart beat wildly in her chest. Mae had expected to be worse than others at magic, but she hadn't expected her wand to be taken so easily. Fred tossed it back to her and Mae caught it without an issue.

"Go on," he said, gently encouraging her to try the spell again. "You can do it, Mae."

She shook her head. Suddenly terrified, Mae took a step away from him. Her fear, unnecessary as it was, slowly started to take over her mind. Out of the corner of her eye she saw others in the room, practicing successfully, laughing and talking as Harry walked around to help them improve the spell.

Fred took a step forward, concern taking over his face, and Mae stepped back again. Laughter echoed through her ears, and she imagined it was directed at her. "Mae what's going on?" Fred asked, his voice low. "Did Umbridge do something again?"

There was a hand on her back a moment later, and she heard Harry say, "Like this," he said, raising her arm and pointing the wand at Fred. "Wave like this, and just say it. Take a breath, okay?"

Mae couldn't explain the overwhelming fear that she'd experienced. She didn't like it, and she didn't like how weak it made her feel. But she followed Harry's instruction and took a deep breath, and then another because she still didn't feel normal. Fred didn't move or speak the entire time, and Harry stood off to the side, looking impossibly young yet amazingly talented.

Another moment and Mae moved her wand and heard herself say, "Expelliarmus!"

Fred's wand left his hand and Mae caught it, surprised that it had actually worked. Having accomplished the spell, Mae looked up at Fred and he came closer. She didn't step back again, and Fred took her hand, pulling her more into the corner. "Mae, are you alright?" he asked softly.

She nodded, not believing herself. "Yes, I'm fine. Sorry, I don't...I don't know what happened there."

"It's okay," he said. "It's totally fine. Want to try again?"

"Yeah, that's fine," she said, feeling more brave than she normally did. "Fred?" He cocked an eyebrow and Mae looked down at her feet. "Thank you for not making fun of me."

"For what?" he asked. "You took that wand right out of my hand. There's nothing to make fun of."

She smiled, and walked back to where they'd originally been. Fred followed, and they took turns using expelliarmus and chatting. After a while, Harry calls for an end to the lesson, and Mae puts her wand in her pocket to leave. Fred catches up to her, as she'd taken off without him. He doesn't say anything as he walks her to her common room, a rare occurrence, but Mae doesn't care. Just having him next to her was enough to make her smile.

It wasn't until Mae had a foot inside the door to her common room that Fred spoke again. "I do, by the way," he said, causing Mae to pause and look back at him. "Fancy you. Angelina's right."

Mae's mouth opens stupidly, and she tries to say something but no words come out. She can't say a word, and doesn't get the chance before one of her seekers pulls her into the room and slams the door to excitedly tell her that quidditch was back.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Mae had spent two weeks with Fred. Neither of them commented on what Fred had told her the night of the DA's first meeting, and Mae was anxious to keep it on the back burner. She was shocked that Fred has feelings for her, and only knew that he made her remarkably happy without really even trying. Despite his admission, they'd remained close and good friends, and Mae wondered what that meant for them in the future.

Angelina had let out a rather loud squeal with Mae told her what had happened. Alicia had started laughing, claiming that it would be the best relationship in their year. She noticed, too, that George and Lee wiggled their eyebrows and winked at her more than usual, which always made Fred slap the backs of their heads. It wasn't normal, but Mae assumed the subtle teasing would be worse if she was actually in a relationship with Fred.

She wasn't being teased now though, because Mae was sitting alone in the great hall, writing an essay for potions that Snape had forced on everyone who wasn't a Slytherin. She suspected it was to give the Slytherins an advantage in the upcoming quidditch match against Gryffindor. Mae was bitter because it was the fourth essay she'd had to write that week, and it was far more than she'd ever wanted. She knew that N.E.W.T.S. were going to be difficult, but surely writing all of the essays wouldn't help as much.

Mae was thankful when someone slid into the seat across from her. Having glimpsed only the red hair, she assumed it was Fred or George, and that they would quickly take her away from the misery of her essay. She finished her sentence and looked up, immediately caught off guard by who was there.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, looking at Fred's younger brother with confusion in her eyes.

He squirmed in his seat, glancing around them anxiously. "I...I need help." he said softly, his neck red as he continued to scan the room.

"Is something wrong?" Mae asked. Ron Weasley had never talked to her before, and she didn't know why he'd come to her of all people for help. "Has something happened to Fred and George? Is it Umbridge?"

"No, not...nothing like that. Bloody hell, this is stupid. Nevermind, I'll-"

"Hold on," Mae said. "Tell me what's going on and I'll try to help."

There's a heavy pause, and then, "Quidditch is tomorrow."

Realization dawned on her and Mae nodded. "Nervous?" she asked.

"I'd just talk to Harry, but he's...busy with things. Fred and George would never let me forget if I told them I was nervous. I...I think I should just quit, and let someone else-"

"Angelina will murder you if you quit," Mae said quickly. "Don't quit, that's a terrible idea. What are you worried about? The Slytherin keeper's not even that good. They'll play dirty, Slytherin will, but as long as you keep your wits about you, you'll be alright."

"I'm terrible," he said, his shoulders slumping. "I don't know why I tried in the first place. I"m no good at it. I don't...I can't block anything and they're all counting on me and I-"

"Take a deep breath," Mae said, his panic reminding her of what had happened to her during the first meeting. "It's going to be okay. You're a good keeper, Ron. I've heard about it from Fred and George. They're quite proud of you, even if they won't tell you that themselves."

He took the breath she'd suggested and then said, "I...I just thought you might understand because you're a keeper too and you know how hard it can be."

"I completely understand," Mae said. "I was terrified before my first match too. But it all turned out for me, and it will turn out alright for you too."

Ron didn't look nearly as sure as Mae felt. "But what if-"

"Don't worry, okay?" Mae said. "You've got this."

"But what if...I'm really-"

"Get a broom," she said, sighing heavily. If her team found out what she was about to do, they'd call her a traitor. But Ron Weasley as so worried and scared for the upcoming match, and Mae wanted to help him. He deserved her help. "Put on something warmer because it's freezing outside, but then go meet me near Hagrid's hut. Slytherin's on the pitch right now, so we'll have to make do without actual goal posts."

"Wait, but-"

"Are you going to refuse my help?" Mae asked, raising an eyebrow. The younger Weasley shook his head and ran away from the table. Mae shook her head slightly and packed up her things before going to her own dormitory to get changed into something warmer for the impromptu practice with Ron Weasley.

She met him near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He towered over her already, yet somehow looked remarkably small. "Alright," she said, a hand on her hip and the other firmly holding her broom. "These aren't normal conditions, but better to practice when it's more difficult and master that than only practice when it's super easy."

"Okay," he said, nodding. "I'm ready."

"The trees are the posts, okay? We don't want a single quaffle to get lost in that forest."

He nodded again, and they got started. It was slow, but Mae thought he'd made good progress. Their practice lasted slightly over an hour, and included Mae showing him the best way to hold his hands and move his feet when he was going to kick the ball away. Mae couldn't help but shout praise in his direction and he was red but happy as he blocked her shots. He still let some through, but Mae could tell he felt better about the whole thing.

They walked into the castle together, Mae telling jokes to lighten the mood and to make him laugh. She walked him back to his common room and shook his hand when he held it out to her. "Thank you," he said, his ears red. "I feel better about tomorrow."

"That's good," Mae said, smiling. "You'll be excellent tomorrow, I have no doubt about it."

He smiled one more time before going into his common room. Mae shook her head and smiled, heading back to her common room to work on the essay for Snape. It wasn't due until Monday, but she didn't want it hanging over her head all weekend. She stayed up until nearly two in the morning making it as perfect as possible. She went to bed before long, absolutely exhausted, but excited for the quidditch match. She loved quidditch, and it made school a thousand times easier to get through.

Mae woke up early in the morning, excitement washing over her immediately. She got ready in a hurry and went up to breakfast, hearing the chatter in the great hall for the match that day. Everyone was excited, though she spotted a pale, anxious face at the Gryffindor table that she knew belonged to Ron Weasley. A couple of seats away from him sat Fred and George, and Mae made a snap decision to head over to their table and wish them luck. Or, primarily, to wish Fred luck.

Remembering the way he'd whispered in her ear a few weeks ago, Mae decided to use the same approach to surprise him. "Good luck," she said softly, watching Fred stiffen. She was scared, for a moment, that she'd upset him or that maybe their friendship wasn't something he wanted advertised to the rest of the school. 'I'm sorry' was on the tip of her tongue when he turned around, grinning.

"If we win, will you go to Hogsmeade with me?" he asked, a hint of nerves in his normally confident voice.

"Haven't I already gone to Hogsmeade with you?"

"As a date." he added.

Mae froze, her mouth parted slightly and her heart thundering in her chest. "You'd better win." she said with a shaking voice. Fred smiled and Mae left to sit at the Hufflepuff table.

She ate breakfast, watching the Gryffindor team get up and leave the great hall for the comfort of the changing room at the quidditch pitch. Mae, with a borrowed Gryffindor scarf from Angelina wrapped tightly around her neck, made her way down to the quidditch pitch as well. She sat close to the pitch, surrounded by other Hufflepuffs who were also rooting for Gryffindor. No one wanted Slytherin to win, even though Gryffindor winning could be disastrous for Hufflepuff's own chances of winning the house cup.

The game started, and Mae found herself cheering wildly for the Gryffindor team. They weren't doing too well though, and as soon as Mae made out the words of the song Slytherin was singing, she was fairly confident she knew why. Fury filled her, and Mae found herself standing up and pushing her way through the crowd to get closer to Ron. She wanted to yell at him to focus, but there was no way she would be heard over the roar of the Slytherin crowd. "Come on, Ron," she muttered. "Come on, you can do it!"

He managed to catch a quaffle and three quarters of the stands erupted in cheers. "That's it, Ron!" she heard Lee Jordan yell. "Make sure Fred gets that date with Willis!"

She paused for a moment and turned bright red. "For Merlin's sake," she muttered. "I'm going to kill him."

She kept going, looking for an exit so she could meet the team when they inevitably won. She could only hope that Harry caught the snitch soon so that the mess of a match could end. Mae made it into the Gryffindor's changing room and soon heard a great cheer and Lee Jordan yelled something about Harry catching the snitch.

Mae peaked out of the room to see the teams landing, and Ron slowly walking back toward her alone. She couldn't handle seeing him look so dejected, so she hurried out to meet him on the pitch. He seemed shocked to see her there, but she said, "You did amazing. That's just bad sportsmanship, what the Slytherin's did. They threw you off, I know, but you did great."

"Mae-"

They stopped when they heard shouting. It was only then that Mae realized Fred was being physically restrained by Angelina, Alicia, and Katie, while George and Harry attacked Draco Malfoy. "What the-"

She wanted to take off running to help them, but before she could move she saw Madam Hooch wave her wand, and George and Harry went flying. She stood there in shock with Ron, while Harry and George marched past them, their heads held high. Professor McGonagall followed immediately, looking absolutely furious. It only took a moment for Mae to get her head about her, and she left Ron to go running for Fred. She hoped Ron wouldn't be upset with her, but she was much closer to Fred and she could see Hermione Granger making her way to the pitch as well, so Ron would be well taken care of.

Fred was fuming; the chasers were still holding him back, and Mae put a hand on his shoulder to help steer him around toward the changing room. He didn't seem to see her standing before him, and Mae didn't try to speak to him. No one spoke, actually, until they got to Ron. "Bloody hell," he said, looking at Fred with wide eyes. "What happened over there?"

"He insulted Mum and Dad, and Harry's mum as well." Fred said. Mae hadn't been particularly close to him for long, but she'd only heard him that angry a handful of times.

"Git." Ron said, and marched with them back to the changing room. Mae felt somewhat out of place, with all of the Gryffindors around. But she didn't want to leave, because she wanted to be there for Fred and her friends.

Fred sat down on a bench and Mae immediately sat down beside him. He was still angry, and Mae watched the others linger for a moment before going to change into regular clothes. Fred didn't move or speak for ten minutes, until Mae realized she couldn't sit and wait anymore. "Fred," she said, standing up and pulling him off the bench. "Come on, let's get moving. Let's go back to the castle."

He nodded, and looked confused for a moment before taking a step away. "You don't...think of my family that way too, do you?"

Mae didn't hesitate. "I'm a muggleborn. What the hell would I know about your family?" Fred smiled faintly, and Mae added, "But, I know that they raised you instead of some jerk like Malfoy. I know who the good family is."

His smile grew and quickly faded. "I guess I'm not getting that date though, after everything that happened."

"What are you talking about?" Mae asked, a cocky grin on her lips. "Gryffindor won the match. That was the deal, wasn't it?"

"Seriously?" Fred asked, looking surprised.

"Seriously. And I fully expect it to be a fun time. Don't disappoint me, Fred Weasley."

"Have I ever?" he asked, and Mae had to shake his head.

She watched him walk away to change, and shook her head. She didn't know what she was getting into, going on a date with Fred Weasley, but she could only hope it would lead to something good. She hoped it would lead to something that would make Cedric happy.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Mae sat quietly in the great hall later that night, working on the essay once again. She had at least two hours before curfew started, and she'd spent a few quick moments with Fred to confirm when they were going to go on a date to Hogsmeade. His mood soured again after too long, and Mae was confident that he needed more time with his friends and family. Ron had run off at some point, so Mae was a bit worried about him, but she wanted to focus once more on the essay that she'd attempted the night before.

She pulled a sweater a bit tighter around her shoulders, tapping her fingers on the table and trying to convince herself that she could finish writing her essay. It wasn't too hard, and she could finish it by the end of the night. Then she'd have Sunday free for practice with her team, and they could figure out how to beat Gryffindor. Mae shivered, as if a cold rush of air had swept through the room. Warmed by some magical force, however, Mae knew that wasn't the truth.

It was with a beating heart that Mae realized there was someone behind her. She turned around, quickly, and somehow wasn't surprised to see Professor Umbridge behind her. Umbridge gave her menacing laugh, and Mae felt chills go up her spine that were very different from the ones that Fred produced.

"I saw you on the field today, Miss Willis," she said, her hands folded in front of her stomach and pure joy in her eyes. "Students are not supposed to be on the field unless their teams are practicing or playing."

"After the conduct of the Slytherins, I thought it necessary to find Ron Weasley and provide some comfort."

"Are you-"

"He's the brother of my close friends, and I wasn't going to let him suffer," Mae said heatedly. "I'm the captain of my team, and I would hope someone would do that for my players as well. I won't apologize for my actions."

"Unfortunately-"

"Your newfound power does not give you the ability to be in close quarters with Mae Willis outside of detention or class," a stern voice said loudly. Out of the corner of her eye, Mae saw Professor McGonagall striding over to them angrily. "You've already destroyed the Gryffindor quidditch team. I will not allow you to do the same to Hufflepuff."

There was a pit in the bottom of her stomach. The Gryffindor team had been destroyed? That didn't seem possible.

Umbridge had a foul expression on her face. "Minerva-"

"I will not say it a second time," McGonagall said, furious. "You may have power in this school, but you will not dismantle it."

Umbridge glared, furious, and Mae looked down at the table so she wouldn't have to see the anger on her face. She knew it would come back to bite her, and she was confident she would end up with detention in the next few days. Umbridge would be frustrated that she hadn't been allowed to punish Mae for stepping onto the field, and she'd probably find something worse to do than what she'd planned. Mae couldn't help but glance at her hand, seeing the thin white words maring her skin. It made her blood boil, but she couldn't do anything to stop the professor.

Umbridge stalked away, her short legs carrying her as quickly as possible. "Professor," Mae said slowly, her heart still in her stomach, "What happened to the Gryffindor team?"

McGonagall let out a heavy sigh. "Harry Potter, and George and Fred Weasley have all been banned from playing quidditch while Umbridge is at Hogwarts."

She felt her eyes widen, and she didn't really believe her ears. "But-"

"She has an educational decree," McGonagall said softly, sounding defeated. Mae wasn't sure she'd ever really heard her professor sound like that. "There's nothing I can do. I imagine," she added slowly, "that the Weasleys will be glad to see you tomorrow."

"Professor?"

"Has anyone ever told you, Ms. Willis, that you are extraordinary?"

"Professor, I-"

"I'd best be off," Professor McGonagall said, her voice sad. "Take care, Ms. Willis. Notify your team, perhaps, that this is a new threat."

Mae nodded, shocked and confused by the news that had just been given to her. She hurried to pack up her things and then rushed to her common room. She could see her team, in their own groups, talking and laughing, completely unaware of what was now hanging over their heads. She was going to have to break the news to them, and that devastated her.

"Hey!" she shouted into the crowd of Hufflepuffs. "I need to speak to the quidditch team in the corridor-now!"

The mass of students looked at her, and Mae tried to look like she had any type of authority. She hoped they would just come without a fight, and slowly but surely they filed into the corridor, and Mae shut the door firmly behind them.

"What's this about?" Zacharias asked, frustrated. "I was in the middle of something."

"The Gryffindor team is down three players now. Harry Potter, as well as Fred and George Weasley have all been banned from playing quidditch." Mae said, not bothering to beat around the bush.

Rose's mouth fell open. "What happened?"

"Professor Umbridge," Mae said grimly. "She has the power, apparently, to dismantle teams now. She can ban anyone from any activity, and no one can stop her. Not Professor Sprout, not Dumbledore… I need you all to be on your best behavior until the season is over."

"But what about Dumble-" one of her chasers asked.

Mae hushed her with a glare. "Unaffected, and don't speak about it again. But that's the only exception. You need to turn in every assignment, smile, be _pleasant_ , for God's sake."

"At least there's a bright side in all this," Zacharias said sarcastically. "If Weasley's not practicing all the time, there might be more time for you to snog him."

Mae turned red and glared at him. "I'm not snogging Fred Weasley," she said quickly. Her team stared at her, unconvinced. "Shut up, all of you. I don't want to talk about this. Just be model students until quidditch is over."

"She could use a good snogging," Rose muttered to Zacharias as they entered the common room again. "Maybe she'd be less tense."

Mae turned a deeper shade of red and shook her head, turning to go back to the great hall. Professor Flitwick had been in there at the time, and Mae knew he was aware that Umbridge wasn't supposed to approach her. If he was there, then she was fairly confident she could continue studying safely, and without the threat of her team commenting on her relationships.

She finished the essay she'd started and was moments away from falling asleep at the table when she felt a tap on her hand and saw a grey owl before her, head cocked slightly to the side and looking bored. "What the-"

The owl stuck out its leg, and Mae saw a note as well as a slender package a few inches away. She vaguely recognized the handwriting, but the owl was recognizable immediately. "Hello, Blue." she says softly, holding out her hand for the Diggory's owl to press her head against. The owl, recognizing her, did just that and then held out her leg again.

Mae took the letter and the owl flew off, leaving the package behind. She opened the heavy paper carefully, scared for what she would find inside.

 _Mae-Sorry it's taken so long to get these to you. Cedric would want you to have them. -Amos Diggory_

Her heart rose into her throat. With shaking hands she opened the package, and out tumbled hundreds of pictures. She recognized them as the ones that had covered his door in his bedroom. He'd had an old Polaroid and had insisted it be used to document their friendship. He'd claimed it was because the pictures would be good blackmail, and funny things to have displayed at their weddings.

She picked up the first picture, one from when she was five years old. Back then she hadn't even known that magic was real. She'd covered Cedric's face in cheap makeup from a kit that her aunt had given her. The camera, originally her mother's, had captured the blurry image of Cedric with pink eyelids and bright purple lips while a younger version of herself stood proudly next to him. The next image she grabbed showed them watching a movie on her family's sofa. The one after that was from their first trip on the Hogwarts Express together. Mae could see the excitement coming from her eager smile, and smiled slightly as she noticed Cedric's arm protectively around her shoulders.

The next picture made her eyes burn. Her chest tightened and her hands shook. The last time she'd seen him alive. He'd had the polaroid and had taken a picture, just of their faces. Mae had his name spelled out on her cheeks in black paint, and she'd hugged him as they scrunched together to take the photograph. They'd been so happy. His eyes were so full of life. Not long after it had been taken, she'd watched him walk off into the maze, waving at the stands, and at her. The next time she'd seen him, a sobbing Harry Potter was clutching his shirt and trying to protect him from a danger that no longer posed an immediate threat.

Tears spilled down her cheeks. She looked at more pictures, remembering the circumstances around them and wiping her eyes frantically. She didn't like crying in public. She didn't want anyone around to think that she was weak. Yet the more she looked at them, the more she felt the loss. The hole she'd started to fill opened back up, and a torrent of emotions hit her at once. Guilt, anger, immense sadness, among others. She missed him.

Mae let out a sob, unable to contain herself anymore. The sadness threatened to consume her in that moment, to swallow her whole and never let her see the light of day again. And then there was a hand on her shoulder. She wished, more than anything in the world, that it was Cedric, but when she looked up, she saw Angelina. Her friend looked solemn, and though blurry, Mae noticed Alicia behind her with a similar expression on her face.

"Come on," Angelina said softly, holding out her hand. "Come stay with us tonight."

Mae stared at her friend's outstretched hand like it was her only hope. "I...I'm not allowed…"

"The rules don't matter," Angelina said firmly. "Right now you need your friends. It's almost curfew, so if we hurry, we can make it to the Gryffindor common room without a problem."

Mae nodded slightly and hurried to gather all of the pictures. Alicia helped her put them in their original package, and then put an arm around her shoulders as they made their way out of the great hall. Mae still had tears pouring down her cheeks, and she was doing everything she could to keep from letting out another sob. She didn't want to draw more attention to their group than necessary.

They arrived at the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. Angelina muttered a password that Mae didn't bother to listen to. She was sniffling and trying to wipe her eyes, and the room seemed to fall silent when the portrait swung shut behind them.

"Not a word," Angelina said loudly, as a good chunk of Gryffindors were staring at them. "Am I understood?"

Nodding followed, and Angelina led her toward a staircase. Mae caught a glance of Fred's face, and he looked confused and worried, but she didn't have the energy to talk to him. Instead she just followed Angelina and Alicia to their dormitory. Alicia sat her on a bed, and Mae choked out, "I...I just miss him. I...I miss him so much."

"I know," Alicia said softly, a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mae."

Mae nodded, tears continuing to fall down her cheeks. She tried to wipe them away, but Angelina stopped her and said, "It's okay to cry. You lost your best friend. It's okay to be in pain."

She started sobbing again. It was slow at first, but then her chest heaved and she lost whatever shred of control she'd held before. Mae held the pictures against her chest and leaned into her friends, her heart breaking all over again.


End file.
